Time and Again
by Mymomomo
Summary: Abnormality is my middle name, unfortunately. I'm the freaky, white-haired kid who sees ghosts and talks to stuffed animals. The reincarnation of one of Soul Society's strongest warriors? Yeah, I wouldn't believe it either. Reincarnation had been nothing more than a theory, but it didn't even begin to explain why there was a dead Shinigami living in my head.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello again to all^^ Yes I'm doing a new story. However in this one I'm gonna stray away from my usual humour and be much more serious. I hope you enjoy regardless. I seem to always be drawn to writing heavy stuff, most of my non-ff stuff are serious and not complete farces. So I'm going down a different road than with Twisted Reality and The Bet which are obviously lighter fics.**

**I hope I'm not being too unoriginal with this fic, there seem to be a lot of reincarnation fics out there, but I also seemed to be drawn to the idea. I'll try to be as original as possible.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach; this is just a fanfic  
**

**A/N: edited June 2013**

* * *

_ Cold wind whipped at my face and howled at almost deafening levels. It was impossible to see more than a few centimetres in any direction around me. Snow and violent gusts of wind slammed into my body making my clothes billow out around me. I put a hand in front of may face to shield it from the stinging snow. I suppose it should have been cold too; but I didn't feel it. The gusts of wind which should have chilled me to the bone felt as harmless as a gentle summer breeze. Yet, I did not think this strange. There was something beyond the blizzard; I had a feeling. There was something out there; calling to me, drawing me towards it, but I couldn't see it or hear it. All I could see was white flakes and hear the pained howl of the wind. A sinking feeling grew in my stomach because I couldn't move beyond the blizzard, because I couldn't even see a foot in front of me or hear anything other than the roar of the wind. I felt useless like I should have been on the other side of the storm; it shouldn't have overcome me like this..._

The dream always ends with me feeling sick to my stomach and caused me to wake up with a jolt then rush to the bathroom and throw up.

...

"What'cha writing there, Koko-chan?"

I glared up at my older brother and quickly slammed my notebook shut. "Don't call me that." I growled really I hated that nickname and I had no idea where he had gotten it from. He'd been calling me that for as long as I could remember no matter how many times I had told him to stop.

He laughed and his blue-green eyes sparkled mischievously as he ran a hand through his dark brown – almost black – hair, "Sure thing, Koko-chan. Anyway, what were you writing?" he attempted to grab the book from my arms.

I clutched it to my chest and glared harder. "None of your business." I snapped. How could a thirty-something-year-old man be so annoying? "And don't you have somewhere to go? I don't know, like your job maybe."

He shook his head, "Nope, I'm off today. Come on you never let me read your stories."

"Great." I rolled my eyes, a whole day of Teito, things could not go well today. Okay, it wasn't that I didn't like my brother it was just that one of his hobbies was annoying the crap out of me. He was usually fun to be around except when he decided to be annoying, like right now.

"Let me see it, please. I promise I won't laugh or make fun of it."

"I don't care; you're not reading this. This is private."

"You let Mikami see it."

Mikami was my older sister; I was the baby of the family. So much so because Mikami was in her late twenties and I was only twelve. Yeah, my family was all settled down when I came along. Can you say accident?

"No I don't; stop lying."

Teito sighed heavily, "What's it for anyway, school?"

I shook my head, "You of all people should know I start school in two days. But no, it's for Hagino-san."

"Oh writing love poems to your therapist? I didn't take you for that kind of person, Koko-chan."

I thumped him on the head with the notebook, "Idiot, it's not love poetry; she's making me write down my dreams."

"Oh, so your dreams are private? I tell you mine all the time." he leaned his elbows against the table and placed his chin on his palms.

"I would hardly classify your dreams as private. You dreamt that your underwear got stolen by an Italian speaking monkey."

"With a-"

"With a can of spray paint." I folded my arms across my chest still holding onto my book. "My dreams are a bit more complex than that."

"Whatever, I would prefer to dream about monkeys than whatever nightmares you have. At least monkeys are cute."

I rolled my eyes. He just grinned and reached over to ruffle my hair. "The nightmares aren't getting worse are they?"

I shook my head, "I couldn't tell you; I haven't been sleeping well."

"It's probably because you're in a new environment. Don't worry you'll get used to it soon enough."

I shrugged, "I guess..."

"You wanna help me with dinner?" he asked, smoothly changing the subject.

"Sure, I'll just put away my things first." I said as I stood up and headed over to my room.

I sat down on the edge of my bed and placed the notebook under my pillow. My therapist had told me to record my dreams as a way to relieve some of my anxiety. Yes, I was a twelve-year-old with a severe anxiety disorder. Also, lately I had developed a phobia of sleeping; strange? Yes, I know. I, Hyōka Takemitsu, was the definition of strange. I was afraid of heights and I suffered from panic attacks, it wasn't something that normal twelve-year-olds could put on their résumé.

I flopped back on my bed and stared up at the plain, white ceiling of my new bedroom. It was so new that I hadn't even finished unpacking. Actually the only things that were unpacked were the things my sister had taken out from the boxes. I wasn't exactly home sick – I had hated Tokyo with a passion – but I couldn't bring myself to call this strange, small town my home. We had moved from Tokyo to a small town called Karakura two months ago, but it already felt like an eternity. Maybe that was because Teito and Mikami had been planning the move for some time now. Mikami has lost her job at the hospital a while back and I... well let's just say I ran into a bit of trouble at school. I had no idea why she had chosen such a small town as Karakura. It was really out of the blue, we had no relatives here and as far as I knew the Takemitsu family had always resided in Tokyo and the neighbouring towns of Kawaguchi and Ichikawa. However, they both seemed to like the town so far, Teito especially since a cop from the big city was a gem in the small town's police department. I, on the other hand, was not too sure what to make of it; something just seemed... odd.

"You know, it's not going to be that bad."

I shot up and looked around for the source of the voice and spied a girl of about six in a frilly pink tutu sitting on a box in the corner. I studied her suspiciously and noticed that she had a chain attached to the front of her chest. Ah, a ghost or spirit or whatever she was.

"What isn't going to be so bad?" I decided to humour her; usually these types of ghosts were normally harmless and pretty friendly.

"Living here; Karakura is a nice place." she spread her arms wide and spun in a circle as if trying to indicate the whole town.

"Suuure." I rolled my eyes. It had to be a nice place if six year old girls were dying and turning up in my bedroom.

She stood up and twirled around like a ballerina. I raised an eyebrow as I watched her twirl around the small room. "Yeah, it's a great place; I can tell you're going to make tonnes of friends here!"

I sighed; I did not make friends easily; Teito sometimes joked that I did not do the whole 'friendship' thing. The only friend I had was Hyourinmaru, my stuffed dragon. Okay, laugh all you want. I admit that I have a stuffed dragon which I consider my friend. I got him when I was a baby and sue me if I'm reluctant to part with him. He's gone through as much as I have and that's more than I can say for any human being, excluding Teito and Mikami, of course -

"What are you doing?!" I yelled. The ghost had climbed up on to my window sill and was doing a series of clumsy pirouettes. My stomach started to churn uncomfortably.

She only laughed before bowing and doing a back drive out of the window. I paled and felt my heart speed up. I could just imagine her guts spread out on the hard pavement below. It was not a pretty sight; gravity did strange and gruesome things to people. I had every right to be scared of heights. I closed my eyes for a minute and told myself not to think about it. The girl was okay; the fall – no jump – had done nothing to harm her. I would see her twirling around on the pavement if I looked out the window. There was no way I was getting myself to look out that window, though. I felt my mouth go dry and my head spun at the thought. I took a few deep even breaths and leaned over placing my head on my knees. Damn ghost, why did she have to go and do that? And I was supposed to have a decent day too...

There was a knock on my door, "Hyōka?" Teito's voice called from the doorway. He must have heard me shout. "What's going on?"

When I didn't respond I heard him sigh then push the door open. His heavy footsteps stopped at the foot of my bed and then I felt the mattress sink as he sat down next to me.

"What's wrong?" he repeated.

"Ghost j- jumped out the w-window." I managed to gasp.

"Hyōka."

I uncurled from the ball I was in, "We're on the third story, Teito! Don't you Hyōka me."

He flicked me on the forehead, "Calm down. If it was a ghost then it's going to be alright; I've seen them do things that should normally be impossible."

I angrily rubbed the spot and glared at him.

"Now come on; I already chopped up the vegetables and that was supposed to be your job."

I sighed, "It must be a hassle to take care of me." I mumbled, "Don't you or Mikami ever get tired of it?"

He looked at me like I had grown a second and third head and started to breathe fire. "Now where would you get that idea, Koko-chan?

Again with the blasted name. I growled in annoyance.

He laughed and ruffled my hair with a huge hand. "You're my little brother; it kind of goes without saying that you're going to be a hassle."

("\(^.^)/")

Mikami came home later that night looking exhausted. Her waist length dark brown hair was tied tightly in a low ponytail but a few stands had escaped adding to her overall haggard appearance. Mikami and Teito were like polar opposites. Where she was willowy he was muscular. He was playful and she was serious. He lived in the moment and she liked to plan ahead. He was an idealist and she was a realist. He had a sharp sense of humour, she... well, she laughed at his jokes, sometimes. I often wondered how they were able to live together. They both had dark brown hair and blue-green eyes which were characteristics of our family. They were also pale; I was pretty pale myself also. And both of them were somewhat tall; I missed out on that gene though; 4, 0" was not common height for a twelve year old. The only thing that would have linked me to my brother and sister was the fact that we all had the same blue-green eyes. I guess I would have looked more like them if it wasn't for my hair. I think it was a birth complication that had caused it to turn completely white.

Mikami all but dropped onto a chair at the kitchen table. Almost instantly Teito placed a mug of hot green tea in front of her; it was one of her favourites. She smiled at him in thanks.

"So, how was your day?" Teito asked as he sat down next to her and left me to finish washing up all the dishes.

She shook her head, "I'll tell you later."

She tried to send a discreet look my way. I knew this meant that she didn't want to talk about it in front of me; I could tell when she didn't want me to know things. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to the bowl I was scrubbing. She should have known by now that I always found out these kinds of things; I had talent, what could I say?

"So, Hyōka," she fervently tried to change the topic. "What did you do today?"

I raised an eyebrow and glanced at her over my shoulder. I placed the bowl in the draining board before I answered her. "Nothing much." Two could play at that game.

Teito snorted, "Yeah, nothing as in almost having another panic attack because some ghost decided to jump out his window."

I scowled at my older brother and Mikami in turned scowled at me. "How many times do I have to tell you not to keep these things from me, Hyōka? And you, Teito, should have called me. I don't want any more complications with your health."

"Sorry," I grumbled, my voice was laced with sarcasm, "It won't happen again. The next time I see a ghost jump out the freaking window I'll come straight to you."

"Watch you language. And it's not funny, mister." she narrowed her eyes, "And you're still seeing ghosts? I thought we would leave all this behind when we left Tokyo."

"I didn't ask to see them. And don't act like you and Teito can't see them either."

She sighed, "I know but that was one of the reasons why we left Tokyo. So we wouldn't have to deal with all those ghosts and monsters coming after us and now I find out that they're still here!"

They were probably following me, I thought. The ghosts were pretty harmless, but the monsters were a different story. The smallest one I had ever seen was the size of a bus. They were all gruesomely ugly, had a skeletal mask with red eyes, and holes going through the center of their chests. They also liked to attack the ghosts and on rare occasions people.

"Well it's not like we can do anything about them," Teito stated, "and we haven't been hurt."

"Yet." Mikami took a long sip from her cup while Teito got up to set the table.

I sighed. She really did worry too much. Her worrying wore _me_ out most of the time. It was a wonder that her hair hadn't turned grey yet. Teito started to hum trying to diffuse the sudden uncomfortable atmosphere.

"Mikami," he asked as he pulled out three plates from a cupboard, "did you pick up the sleeping pills from the pharmacy? Koko-chan didn't get a wink of sleep last night."

"Yeah, I got them. Did he sleep at all today or take any naps?"

"Nope, but I have a feeling he's going to drop on us any minute now."

I grumbled; I really wished they wouldn't talk about me like I wasn't there. And naps? How old did they think I was? I hadn't had a nap since I was what, three?

Mikami got up a walked over to me. She gently held my chin and forced me to look at her. "You're paler than normal," she noted, "and your bags have gotten even darker."

I jerked my chin from her grasp. Yeah, it was kind of hard to sleep if you were afraid of the idea. Actually it wasn't sleeping that I was afraid of, it was the dreams that accompanied sleep. More often than not it was that dream about the blizzard that left me feeling sick to my stomach as I woke up in a cold sweat. But sometimes I dreamt of people dressed in black kimonos with swords in the midst of battle. There was so much blood; so many people moaning in pain. And then the monsters, I always woke up before I could see much more. After those particular dreams I could never fall back asleep, my heart was racing and there was this phantom pain in my chest like someone had run me through with a sword. But the scary thing was sometimes that I actually coughed up blood because of it.

I didn't think Mikami or Teito would have appreciated me to tell them this, so I kept it to myself. That was probably not one of the smartest things I had done in my life.

...

_I shielded my eyes from the blizzard. Winds swept around me howling in my ears and blowing my hair in clothes in every direction. I had been standing in the same spot for some time now, but I was too afraid to move. I had no idea what was out there; if there was even something out there. It must have been my mind playing tricks on me every time I saw figures move in the distance. All the snow was confusing me; I could barely see past my nose much less make out figures and shapes in the distance. But... then why did it feel like someone... something was watching me. I slowly spun in a circle. I don't know what I expected since all I could see what white in all directions. All my senses told me that I was alone in this storm, but there was something else – a feeling – that convinced me otherwise. So, I strained my eyes and hesitantly took a step forward._

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**overall a generally slow chapter. I decided to try first person narration, a new approach for me, since I'm not a huge fan of the style, but I just think that this makes it more personal.**

**I was just trying to get over the introductions and set the plot, however Ichigo and company won't be making an apparence for a while yet. I want to put the Takemitsu Family on firm ground before I completely throw them into chaos... if that makes sense. I also don't want to get into things so fast. Hope it still seems interesting though...**

**I also don't mind reviews... *looks hopeful***

**-Mymomomo**


	2. Chapter 2

******Well here I am back with chapter two, things are still going a bit slowly but I hope you enjoy anyway.**

**Edited: 24 June 2013**

* * *

"Look at his hair," I heard someone whisper- well it wasn't exactly a whisper considering that the person was standing almost five feet away from me and I could still hear them.

I rolled my eyes; I, for one, have never been the type to be inconspicuous. It was really annoying seeing as most people could spot me a mile away and even more so when I didn't want them to notice me. It was also something people made fun about. I had learned to ignore it for the most part, but it was damn annoying. At one point the taunts had gotten so bad that I had actually considered dying it. The end result had been horrible; I had turned out looking like a skunk. Mikami had almost killed me for it – it probably hadn't helped that I had managed to dye the bathroom rug as well. Eight year olds weren't known for their dexterity. She had helped me to fix it, but when I went to school the next day the teasing got even worse; they had made fun of me for trying to _fit in_. I had learned then that I would never really blend in and now I had a strong contempt for black hair dye.

I ignored the whispers and made my way down the hall to my home room. Mikami Teito and I had already taken a tour a few days prior when I had enrolled so I knew where all my classes were. The principal had at first seemed hesitant when he saw me, but after he saw my marks on the entrance exam he was more than accommodating. Today was my first day of school in Karakura. I was somewhat lucky that we moved during summer so I didn't have to transfer in the middle of a semester. That way it was more than likely I wasn't going to be the only new student. This was going to be my second year of middle school. Yeah, I skipped a grade so unfortunately that meant that I was going to be the youngest in my class. I sighed, it all added up against me really; I seemed to be destined to stand out.

The whisperers and stares followed me all the way to the classroom. Needless to say I was pissed off by the time I sat down at a desk at the back of the class. I basically threw my bag onto it and sat down sending glares at those who were staring at me. Some shied away, a few others glared back, and some even laughed before turning away. Though, they were not the ones completely at fault; I knew that I looked like a mess. I had hardly slept the night before so my eyes were more than likely bloodshot with dark circles underneath. I buried my face in my bag; what a way to start the school year. Well at least there hadn't been any fights... yet. I really hopped that this school would not be the same as school in Tokyo.

I stayed like that for a while – four minutes maybe five –imagining what this school had in store for me; it wasn't too pleasant. But then again I had never liked school. The reasons why were too numerous to mention. Suddenly, I felt a soft poke in my ribs and I shot up right, looking around.

"Hey, are you alright?"

I saw a boy with short dark brown hair and dark eyes leaning over me. I slowly sat up running a hand through my hair. "Yeah I'm fine." I mumbled holding back a yawn.

He cocked his head and sat down in the seat next to mine, "Well, you don't look so good; you look like you haven't slept in ages."

Hmm, how perceptive; was it the bags that gave it away?

"I have a sleeping disorder." I dead panned; it seemed like the only reasonable explanation. It was actually the truth, though, bust most people don't tend to believe me.

His eyes widened. "Oh, I didn't mean to..."

I waved my hand. "Nah it doesn't matter; I wasn't sleeping anyway."

He looked visibly relieved. Then the awkward silence fell in; the ever so convenient awkward silence. We avoided each other's gazes not sure what to say. I glanced around the classroom noticing that it was almost full. His gaze was fixed out the window. I involuntarily shuddered.

"So..." he coughed, "Are you new here?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I moved from Tokyo at the beginning of summer."

He raised an eyebrow, "You moved from Tokyo to Karakura? Why?"

I shrugged, "My sister lost her job." Like hell I was going to tell him why.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear." Another awkward pause followed. He scratched the back of his neck fishing for things to talk about. I sighed, better help the poor boy out.

"So do you live here, or are you new too?"

"I've lived in Karakura my whole life. I'm Kazuya by the way, Ariwa Kazuya. But everyone calls me Kazu."

I nodded, "Takemitsu Hyōka. So where're your friends?" Even I winced at how blunt that sounded. I didn't mean to sound harsh or anything but if he had been living in this town for quite some time he would have some friends, right?

His face darkened, but his eyes got this far away look in them. Maybe I shouldn't have been so forward, but oh well, what's done is done.

"My best friend... moved away before summer. I have acquaintances but I'm not really that close to anyone else."

Okay, good, so he wasn't a weirdo. I actually felt flattered that he would come to talk to me, the new kid, instead of one of his 'acquaintances'. No one had ever done that before.

I nodded again and offered a small smile, hopping to dear god that it hadn't come out looking like a grimace. He smiled back so that meant I wasn't too scary. I've been told not to smile on countless occasions because I frightened the younger children.

In the next few minutes before class started I learnt that Ariwa was very chatty; and that was even an understatement. I had learnt that he had a younger sister who was nine years old, Rei, and lived with his parents and grandmother near the suburbs of the town; 42 Fukao Drive to be precise. He also had a pet rabbit, which took pleasure in chewing on his shoes. In turn he had only learnt my name.

Our home room teacher was a woman by the name of Hamada-sensei. I thought she was nice until she made me stand up in front of the class and introduce myself. Well actually, she made everyone introduce themselves, but the way she glared at me while I was talking didn't rub me the right way. There were fifteen of us in the class; the school liked to keep the classes small. So there were six grade 8 classes each with fifteen to twenty students. It was much smaller than my old school; which could either be a good thing or a bad thing.

I had tried to keep the introduction as short as possible not wanting to spend any more time in front of the class than necessary. Some of the students were civil but I could see, as well as hear, more than a few of them making fun of my hair. I said the minimal basic; name, age, and where I was from. It would have been alright if one of the boy's in the class hadn't decided that he hated my guts. I sighed inwardly; he was definitely the bully type. And it looked like he had found his next target: me. Well whatever, it wasn't something I hadn't dealt with before. In the three minutes I had spent in front of the class he had made fun of my name, height, and hair. Plus, he had taken to tripping me when I passed by his desk – which just so happened to be two desks in front of mine. I managed to dodge him, I've had much worse done to me, and I glared daggers at him, but I might as well have stripped down naked and danced in front of him shouting, 'bring it on bastard', because the look he sent me back was one of pure disgust. I had always loved a challenge; at my old school the bullies never had been bullies after they tried to get to me. If I could hold my ground against Tokyo bullies this small town wanna-be-bad-boy had nothing on me. I disregarded the fact that he was much larger than a regular eighth grader; I would have probably only reached his upper abdomen if I stood next to him. He had a heavy set square jaw and from what I could see the bit of hair that stuck out from under his black beanie was bleached an orangey-brown colour and his dark eyes shone with contempt. Plus, the way he wore his uniform screamed bad news. But again, whatever, I had seen much worse.

When I sat back down in my seat, Ariwa, leaned over. "What were you thinking, Hyōka?"

I looked at him questioningly, "What?"

"That's Adachi Kouta, _the _biggest bully in the school; he's even got the ninth graders scared of him. No one messes with him and you go and stare at him like that! You'll be lucky if you get out of school alive today."

I scoffed. "He can't do anything to me."

Ariwa raised an eyebrow, "He sent a guy to the hospital last year."

I shrugged thinking that it was a bad idea to tell him that I had sent people to the hospital as well. I wasn't joking when I said I had a black belt in karate. I laughed inwardly; I had caused my fair share of trouble last year... and all the years before that. My name had almost always been followed by the command 'principal's office, now'. It wasn't my fault if the teacher's were prejudiced; I hadn't tried to cause any trouble it just seemed to happen when I was around. But I had promised Mikami that I would try not to get into too much trouble here in Karakura.

When Ariwa noticed my nonchalant expression he shook his head, "You're crazy, Hyōka, you know that right?"

When the bell rang signalling the start of recess Ariwa practically dragged me out of the class room to tree in the corner of the track field.

"I always eat lunch here." He explained as we sat down in the shade cast by its branches. "My... my best friend and I used to sit here... before he... moved away."

I regarded my new friend he seemed a bit agitated when he mentioned his previous best friend. That was obviously a touchy subject with him; they must have been close. I would take note to tread carefully in the future if the subject ever came up again.

We un-packed our lunches and began to eat.

"Hey Hyōka?" Ariwa suddenly asked in the middle of taking a bite out of a homemade sushi roll.

"Hmmm?" I glanced at him.

He swallowed. "I just realised that you never told me anything about yourself."

I took a sip of my apple juice. "What do you want to know?"

He shrugged. "Anything. What do you like? What's your family like? Where do you live? What's your favourite colour? Do you like animals? Oh, and what's your favourite type of food?"

I sighed what was this; twenty questions? "I don't like a lot of things," I mumbled, I never really had many hobbies, "I guess you could say I like music; I play the piano and I'm pretty good at soccer too. And umm, I live with my older sister and brother. I can't remember the exact address, but we live in that apartment block on Ayabito Street. I like yellow. Yes, I like animals, but my older sister would rather die than let me get a pet. As for food, I like watermelon and amanatto. Anything else?"

"No that's all for now. So you like soccer; that's great you can try out for the team with me!"

I shook my head; I didn't really want to get too involved with anything just yet. Plus with my medical condition it was kind of dangerous. Also, people did not take too kindly to me freezing up with a panic attack in the middle of practice or a game. "I don't think so."

"Aww, why not?!"

I shrugged. "I play for fun. I don't like the idea of joining teams." Well, that was true also.

He let it go pretty easily and went back to his lunch. We sat in silence for a while. I was surprised that he didn't ask me anything else; he seemed to be the curious type. Actually, I was surprised that he hadn't mentioned my hair yet. It seemed to be the focal point for most people. Hmm, I guess he was different well, at least he seemed so; he was the only person who had attempted to make friends with me, hell who had even talked to me.

"Do you guys mind if I sit here?"

I looked up shocked. Okay make that two people who talked to me. A girl with very interesting hair – but who was I to talk – stood above us. She was rather pretty with huge, dark eyes and kind of skinny but with a nice figure. Her hair was tied back into a high ponytail and she had bangs that almost covered her eyes. It was originally black, but she had streaks of hot pink, electric blue, and royal purple. My hair was strange but this girl took the cake. It guessed that she liked colour since her arms were also decorated with various bands of colourful bracelets.

Ariwa was taken aback also but he managed to nod and the girl plopped down happily next to us.

"Hi, I'm Kasai Chou." she smiled at us.

Ariwa warmed up to her instantly after that; he really was friendly. "I'm Ariwa Kazuya, but you can call my Kazu. Are you new here also?"

"Yeah, I moved here from Tokyo."

He nudged me in the ribs. "She's from Tokyo too, Hyōka!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I heard; I'm not deaf. I'm Takemitsu Hyōka; also from Tokyo which I'm sure you've gathered."

She giggled at our banter. "What class are you in?"

"8-d." we both answered at the same time.

"That's why I didn't notice either of you; I'm in 8-a. I wish I was in the same class as you guys; you seem nice. Everyone in my class makes fun of my hair."

Ariwa shot me an amused grin. "Don't worry about it; Hyōka has the same problem."

I gritted my teeth.

"So do a lot of people in Tokyo dye their hair? Or was it just you two?"

It was an innocent question, but still it pissed me off. "My hair is not dyed." I growled. Honestly, why would I dye my hair white?

Ariwa and Kasai both looked shocked, "Then why is it white? That can't possibly be your natural colour." Ariwa noted.

I sighed, I never really had to explain my colouring since most people just assumed that I was lying and just left it at that. "It was a birth complication, it's hard to explain."

"Albinism." Kasai supplied. Okay let's go with that.

"I thought albino's had red eyes." Ariwa mused aloud.

"Like I said it's hard to explain." I was really uncomfortable discussing this. I did not know why; I just didn't like it.

Somehow Ariwa sensed that I wasn't comfortable and decided to change the subject. "So what's your story, Chou?"

The girl cocked her head. "I don't know I just like colours."

We spent the remainder of lunch break just talking. Kasai was actually a pretty decent person. She was funny, but a bit random. I decided at the end of lunch that I liked her – as a friend of course. Maybe this whole school thing wasn't so bad after all, but then I had forgotten about Adachi.

The large boy decided to show up at the end of the school day, well actually, he had been there for the whole day I just didn't notice him until the end of the day. Ariwa and I were getting our books and stuff from our lockers which just so happened to be two down from each other. Kasai met up with us later since her class was directly across from ours. I was actually paying attention to whatever the two were talking about. They had taken to playfully arguing about the stupidest things.

"I'm telling you that if the school had toothpicks in the bathrooms, then so many people wouldn't have such bad breath." Kasai stated.

I shook my head, deciding not to get involved. Ariwa raised an eyebrow. "What do toothpicks have to do with bad breath?"

"One word: plaque."

"So what if they ate garlic; the smell goes into your lungs so you're breathing it out for the entire day. I'm sure toothpicks can't help that."

"Yeah, but there are some foods that get caught in people's teeth and stay there and stink."

"So, not all foods cause bad breath."

"Most of them do."

"Not really."

"Yes really."

I tuned them out after that. Those two were special, certainly entertaining, but special. You would think that they would have known each other for years the way they were arguing. I clutched my binder to my chest and picked up my pace to keep up with them. It didn't help that both of them were taller than me either. It was more than likely I was the shortest person in the grade; that was just wonderful-

The next thing I knew something caught me around my left foot and I saw was the floor coming up to meet me. Well no I would have loved it to have been just the floor but the stairs had a different plan for me. Books went flying and I'm pretty sure I lost a shoe somewhere in the tumble. Heh tumble, it wasn't a bloody tumble it was a plummet. I wasn't even sure what was going on; flashes of everything flew in front of my face and I heard myself hitting the tiled steps below and people's gasps or barks of laughter. I managed to stop myself by throwing out my arm. It was a bad idea since I landed on my elbow; I think I broke it. I held back a string of curses as I cradled my arm. I wasn't aware of anything going around me at the moment either, but the next thing I knew someone was helping me up and gathering my books from off the floor. I felt myself flush; had I really just fallen down the stairs in front of the whole school? Yep, there had been at least thirty people staring at me. A few were just staring and some others were laughing.

"You bastard! What the hell's your problem! What did he ever do to you?" Kasai yelled, of course.

I glared up at the person on top of the stairs; it was none other than Adachi. He was snickering; I felt anger boil up in the pit of my stomach. The idiot, I could have gotten seriously injured – not counting my elbow which was throbbing painfully by the way.

"Maybe the pipsqueak should look where he's walking."

"Or maybe you should learn not to stick your overgrown foot in people's way."

I had to hold Kasai back from jumping up the stairs to attack the boy. "Kasai, just let it go. He's just an idiot; not worth our time or breath."

She glowered at him before turning back to us. Ariwa was smirking as we turned to leave.

"What was that you little-"

"I said you're not worth our time or breath." I called over my shoulder.

I could almost feel the entire school hold its breath. From what I gathered no one had ever stood up to the bully before. It was time for a change.

"Hyōka was it?" Adachi sneered. I paused, where was he going with this? Plus, I would not stand for a complete stranger calling me so familiarly. "You're mother must have been drunk when she named you. She should have called you _gomi_. But then again if she's anything like you she's stupid as hell."

I would ignore him calling me names. I could stand all the taunts he threw at me, but he didn't dare bring my parents into this. I felt a familiar anger pool in my chest and I clenched my fist.

"Oh, struck a nerve there, did I? Looks like we've found ourselves a mama's boy. You're pathe-"

He didn't get a chance to finish. I had run up the stairs and punched him in the jaw. "Don't you fucking dare talk about my parents!"

"Hyōka!" both Kasai and Ariwa shouted after me. I didn't pay attention to them choosing to focus solely on Adachi. I had taken the boy by surprise and the punch had caused him to lose his balance. He was lying on the floor by my feet looking up at me with both shock and hate. My expression just read anger.

"You wanna do that again, _gomi_?" he snarled.

My response was to shoot him a look of pure disgust. "You don't scare me, Adachi. Just remember that next time." I was about to walk away when a teacher thought that now would be the best time to show up.

"What's going on here?"

Great. I sighed and shoved my hands into my pockets. Looks like I wasn't able to keep my promise to Mikami after all.

...

So, I had a detention for the next week; fighting and cursing were against school policy apparently. That also meant that my reputation at the new school was probably tarnished as well. The principal did not seem too surprised, but he had also expected as much from Adachi. They already thought I was some kind of rebel because of my hair and now that they had caught me fighting – on the first day, nonetheless. Mikami wasn't going to be pleased at all. I shuffled out of the principal's office noticing that my elbow wasn't the only thing I had bruised when I fell down the stairs. I groaned; Mikami was going to murder me.

"That was the most amazing thing I have ever seen in this school!" Ariwa exclaimed as soon as I stepped out of the door. I jumped a foot into the air; where had he popped out from? Honestly, who stands behind doors? "No one has ever stood up to Adachi before! You're going to be some kind of hero! And you managed to knock him over too! Hyōka, you're awesome! Never mind that he's going to hunt you down for embarrassing him like that-"

"He deserved it." Kasai cut in, folding her arms.

I glanced at them both before heading over to the exit. "You guys didn't have to wait for me."

"We know, but that's what friends do." Ariwa supplied for both of them.

I shrugged. "Whatever let's just leave already. I don't wanna stay in here longer than necessary."

School was way much more trouble than it was worth, but these two were certainly going to make it a tiny bit better. I grinned slightly as I watched them skip on ahead re-narrating how I had 'defeated' Adachi.

...

"Explain." Mikami ordered. I was sitting down on a stool in the kitchen as she examined my elbow.

"What do you mean; I bruised my elbow."I bit my bottom lip. In my mind I was frantically trying to figure out a way to weasel myself out of this.

She narrowed her eyes, "Don't play smart with me. The school called. Someone got into a fight this afternoon and used inappropriate language."

"I wonder who that was..."

I heard Teito scoff from his position on the couch watching TV. "This has to be a new record Koko-chan. The first day of school? Last term you waited a week, at least, before starting anything."

Mikami was not amused. "Why, Hyōka, why? Why not simply go to a teacher or something? Why not just ignore it?"

"I was going to but..."

"But?! There is no but-"

"Mikami," Teito stood up lazily from the sofa and came over to us, "Let him explain."

She folded her arms across her chest and glared at me. I felt a part of me die a little, Mikami's glares were scarier than a gun being held to your head by a thug because there was no chance that you could escape them.

"Well?" she snapped.

I took a deep breath, "I'm sure you both know that he pushed me down the stairs. So my offence was minor compared to his."

"Except, we're not comparing offences." Teito joined Mikami with the folding the arms across the chest. I felt like I was being interrogated the way they both were glaring down at me. All they needed was the lie detector and blinding lamp.

I blew my bangs from in front of my face. "So what do you want to hear then?"

Mikami threw her hands up in the air. "Hyōka I'm tired of this! We're in a new city; we're staring new lives. Couldn't you try to be the bigger person for once and just walk away? We've been through this a thousand times already."

I glared back at her. "Okay, first off, as you well remember I never intentionally caused trouble back in Tokyo! I fought back only when it was necessary and you know that; most of the times I did walk away!"

Mikami looked like she was going to shout but Teito stepped in front of her, "Hyōka calm down, we don't want you working yourself into another panic attack right now."

I went back to scowling and biting my lip. Emotions sometimes triggered panic attacks and anger was a huge emotion for me.

"Are you calm now?"

I nodded.

"So tell us why you didn't walk away."

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I knew things were going to get emotional _now_. I almost considered going to my room to get Hyourinmaru for this. "He insulted _ok__ā__san_..."

In an instant the entire room's atmosphere had changed. Even after all these years mentioning my parents was taboo. Teito's expression darkened for a second and Mikami stopped being so angry; she even put an arm around my shoulder.

"Koko-chan, she wouldn't want you to fight for her sake. At least give her that one wish."

I nodded slightly as Teito ruffled my hair. Even after seven years I still nursed my parent's death as if it was a fresh wound.

* * *

**Hmmm so bullies? Bet that was unexpected... heh. And sorry about the wanna be cliff-hanger but the explanation about the Takemitsu parents flows better with a coming chapter, so use your imaginations for the mean time. :P**

**-Mymomomo**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm on a role here^^ Two updates in one day, making up for lost time I guess...**

**Anyway the action starts in this chapter, I wasn't planning on doing it like this but while typing my finger's thought otherwise, so enjoy.**

**Edit: 4/07/13**

* * *

It was actually quite a comfortable chair; I had to say. Not too hard that it gave you sore muscles, or too soft that it swallowed you up, and the leather did not make the usual annoying farting noises every time you moved. I rested my head against the back rest and stretched my feet out. It was a sleepy chair -

"Hyōka-kun, are you listening to me?"

I snapped back into reality. Oh yeah Hagino-san, I had forgotten that I was in her office. Heh, stupid chair.

"Sorry, what did you say?" I rubbed my temples. I seemed easily distracted as of lately; one minute my mind was on something then it was on to the next. I could hardly keep up most of the time. Like yesterday at school I was paying attention to the maths lesson – I really was – and then suddenly I was wondering what Teito was cooking for dinner – Yes, Teito does the cooking in the house. We wouldn't trust Mikami with anything more than a pot of water, though I'm sure she would somehow manage to burn that as well. Her culinary skills weren't the best around; heck I could cook better than her. Maybe we should send her to cooking classes; just like how she used to force me to take extra lessons when she thought my grades were dropping back in Tokyo. Actually, they were dropping but that was because I was not studying, but I didn't want to tell her that; she would have made a whole hullabaloo. Now that was what you would call a funny word. Who even came up with it; hullabaloo? Then again who came up with a lot of things like calculus, or microwave popcorn, or rocket ships, or computers, or board games, or instant ramen? I could so with some of that now, I'm kind of hungry-

"Hyōka-kun,"

Damn, I did it again. I groaned and rubbed my forehead. Zoning out in the middle of a conversation was something I did in history class alone and not in the middle of a therapy session. I focused my attention on Hagino-san. She was a woman of about fifty-something with half-moon glasses perched precariously in front of her large, black eyes. It was her eyes that did it for me; I don't know why. She was one of the few therapists that I have had in my admittedly short life that I actually felt that I could talk to. She did not look at me like I was some sort of freak and talked to me like my problems were something expected in a normal twelve-year-old. Usually we were able to have some decent conversations – not all about how I was feeling at the time. If I didn't want to talk about it we didn't. She was not a pry-er and I quite liked that.

"Sorry, Hagino-san," I muttered, hunching over in the seat, "I just can't seem to concentrate."

She raised an eyebrow. She had only known me for a little more than two months, but I saw her three times a week and she knew that for me to not be able to concentrate was something out of the ordinary. "On our conversation..."

I shook my head, "On everything."

"Is school stressing you out?"

"No."

"Home then? Mikami, Teito..."

"No."

"What about your dreams then; have they been getting better? You haven't mentioned them in a while."

I hesitated; I haven't been dreaming because I've been forcing myself to stay awake until Mikami knocks me out with some heavy-duty sleeping pills. And then I didn't dream because I was under the influence of medication. But she wouldn't like to hear that, would she?

"Well um,"

She sighed then stared at me over the top of her glasses. "Please don't tell me you've been depriving yourself of sleep, Hyōka."

I refused to meet her gaze and focused on a potted fern in the corner of the room.

I heard her sigh again, "You do know how important sleep is right? We need it to restore damaged cells in the body, and the brain needs time to rest. You know that putting this extra stress on your body could trigger panic attacks, right?"

"I know." I still refused to look her in the eye.

"Are the dreams that bad?"

I hesitated for a while before nodding.

"Is it still the one about the blizzard?"

"No it's a different one. This time I'm fighting this guy with slicked back hair except for this one piece that's so annoying I want to chop it off. I can't remember any more details except the fact that I hate him and that I want to kill him except kill isn't a strong enough word. And then there's this girl I can't remember her face either, but I know she means something to me and I have to protect her. And then things just go crazy from there; I'm not sure what exactly happened. One minute I'm holding a sword then I'm falling out of the sky from like ten thousand feet high with a _hole_ in my chest. After that all I can remember is pain... Then I wake up."

"When was the last time you had this dream?" Ah so she had gotten out the note pad.

"Last week, I think; it wasn't that long ago."

"And is it like the other dream when you wake up there's a phantom pain in your chest?"

I nodded slowly.

"Hyōka, I know that we promised what we talked about in her was to be confidential,"

My head snapped up. Had she been...

"Before you jump to any conclusions, I was just saying that we need to tell Mikami about the pains in your chest. She is a doctor and it may be some medical problem that you're experiencing and not an after effect of the dream."

I rolled my eyes, great another problem, however, I knew it was the dream that caused it. The only time I ever felt pain in my chest was after the dream.

"Can we do that?"

I sighed, oh what the heck. It wasn't like Mikami couldn't get any more involved in my life now, could she? I nodded, "Just leave out the part about the dream."

"Yes, that stays confidential. I still want you to write down your dreams in that note book, though. And your anxiety, how has it been lately?"

"No panic attacks for about three days," I stated.

"That's good. Anyway, as for sleeping tonight try to fall asleep without medication and if you do have the dreams just tell yourself that it is not real and it can never happen, okay? Now, how's school? How are Chou and Kazu doing? You've been at school for what three weeks now?"

I smiled a bit. Hagino-san knew when it was time to drop the heavy stuff. I also liked that she left the reprimanding to Mikami. Oh, heaven help me; tonight Mikami was going to have my butt on a plate.

...

"Chest pains, Hyōka?!"

That would be my sister yelling her head off at me, again. I was surprised that the neighbours didn't call in with complains; she wasn't holding back on the decibels. Mikami paced around the kitchen; her favourite yelling spot glaring at me every so often. I sat on a stool at the kitchen counter trying to ignore her. It wasn't working. I rolled my eyes at her ranting and propped my head up on my hands as I watched her go.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? What were you thinking? You know what; I don't even want to know. Whatever reason Hyōka it was foolish and I have a right mind to ground you right now."

I raised an eyebrow. "For doing what, Mikami?"

She looked like she was going to explode. She hated it when I found a fault with her arguments. I often did, but being outsmarted by a twelve-year-old did not bode well with most people. I just sent her a smug look. She couldn't ground me when I had done nothing, technically speaking.

"Don't get smart with me. You know that you are supposed to tell me these kinds of things, but you didn't."

"So you're gonna ground me for not doing anything? That seems unfair don't you think?" I folded my arms across me chest.

I honestly thought that she was going to slap me across the face but Teito intervened. He had just walked in through the front door from a long day at work. He glanced at us shouting in the kitchen before letting out a long sigh and coming over to us.

"Hey," he exclaimed and pulled Mikami into a hug, "I just come home and you two are already at it?"

She bristled into his chest for a short while before pushing roughly away from him. "I don't know what to do with him anymore, Teito."

He raised an eyebrow at me questioningly. "What did you do?"

"That's just it; I didn't do anything!"

"Oh don't start with that, you. He's been having chest pains since the beginning of summer and he didn't even think to tell me."

Teito stared at me. It generally took a lot to make him angry but I had somehow accomplished that tonight in a really short span of time. He turned on me as well and even I had to admit that he looked intimidating in his police officer uniform. "Hyōka, do you want to tell me exactly what's going on?"

"Not really..."

"Hyōka..." he growled and I knew that I passed my limit. Yeah, I was so grounded.

"Well it's nothing too serious. It usually goes away after a few minutes or so and it doesn't hurt that bad." That was a complete lie; I had lain in bed for hours on end just wishing for the pain to go away sometimes.

Mikami sighed. "That still doesn't cut it. I'm going to examine you after dinner; it could be a lung infection for all we know. Then if that's the case you're going to have to come to work with me tomorrow. Let's just hope it _is_ nothing too serious. I just don't get why you didn't find it necessary to tell me sooner, if at all!"

I sighed, "Fine I should have told you sooner. I admit that I was wrong. There, you happy?"

"No, why didn't you tell me?" She folded her hands across her chest.

"Because Mikami, I hate being under all of these restrictions, with my anxiety. Imagine if I was to develop another problem? I might as well go live in a plastic bubble!" That and I didn't want to worry them more than they already were. So much for trying to be considerate with all the hell I was getting at the moment.

"We've spoken about this before," she muttered rubbing her temples and Teito drew up a stool beside mine.

"Koko-chan, look, we're doing all of this because we love you. If something goes wrong we want to help as soon as it happens. You're still young; we want you to live as carefree as possible."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, that's kind of hard to do when the threat of panic attacks is looming over my shoulder!" I turned to Mikami, "Another reason, why you should let me take-"

"We're not starting this argument again," she stated turning away from me, "I said no."

"But it's my life! It's my body! You're not the one who has to always be on the lookout for a panic attack, I do!"

"I said no. Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"I'm not being stubborn! Why can't I just take pills when I have an anxiety attack like most people do?"

"There's no way I'm putting you on a benzodiazepine! That's out of the question and don't change the subject!"

"Why?!"

"Because you're twelve!"

"That's not a reason!" I turned to Teito for support. He in turn just held up his hands in surrender.

"She's the doctor. She knows what's best." He pointed out.

I clenched my palms into fists. It was always what they thought was best. No one knew my body better than I did. Who were they to tell me that I couldn't take the side-effects of a drug? I was so angry that my breath was coming out in short pants and my chest was tightening.

"That's not fair! If I want to-"

All of a sudden I didn't have enough air in my lungs to finish yelling and I couldn't get anymore. I gasped trying to get air into my lungs but not enough seemed to flow. Damn panic attacks. I closed my eyes and doubled over. This was the worst feeling ever. My heart was racing for no apparent reason and I felt sweat rise on my back, neck, and forehead. I bit my lip; it was always like this then the trembling and dizziness hit which was soon followed by unexplainable fear. And I could do nothing about it besides sit and wait. And sitting and waiting was not something I wanted to do when I was panicking.

I just wanted it to be over, but honestly at the moment I couldn't even determine up from down. I wasn't even aware that I was sitting down anymore. Colours swam before my closed eyes and my head was spinning. The only thing that I was aware of was that I was frantically gasping for air and even that was mainly blocked out by the all consuming fear. It caused my heart to race even faster and cold shivers ran down my spine. A sick feeling bubbled up in the pit of my stomach and all I could do in effort to ward it off was scrunch up my face. I knew that somewhere Mikami and Teito had sprung into action. I could hear them from the other end of a void frantically moving about. I vaguely felt Teito wrap his huge arms around me and rub large circles on my back in an attempt to calm me down. I felt some of the panic ebb away and things became slightly clearer. His face was spinning in front of mine but everything was still at the other end of a tunnel going at hyper speed. It was confusing and my head spun even faster.

"T-teito..." I managed to stammer.

"Hyōka, it's okay, it's okay," his voice was loud in my ears and it echoed, but it was something else I could concentrate on rather than the overwhelming terror. "Come on deep breaths, deep breaths. Let's go in... out... in... out... 1...2...1...2...1,"

I concentrated on the counting and forced my breath to slow down back to a normal pace. It was a lot of effort to do so. I felt myself swim in and out of reality. I heard Teito's counting strongly one minute the next it was faded out and I felt horror eating away at the edges of my brain and then the counting would swoop back in. I'm not sure how long I went on like this but at last when I came to a cup of cool water was being pushed against my lips. I gratefully took a sip but coughed and spluttered, spitting most of it back out. I felt Teito force me up into a sitting position and lightly slap me on my back. I had not even realised that I was lying down, much less in his arms. I blinked a couple of times trying to regain my bearings. Mikami was leaning over me with a glass of water in her hands and a worried yet frustrated expression on her face. I noted that Teito was kneeling next to me and he was supporting me in the crook of his massive arm. I swear his biceps must have been roughly the size of my torso. He also looked worried. I closed my eyes for a second before trying to push myself up, only to realise that my arms were like jelly. Mikami sighed and held the glass of water to my lips again. I took a long sip before pulling my head back.

It took me a while before I was able to sit up straight. But when I did I found both Teito and Mikami bearing down on me from both sides.

"Koko-chan, how are you feeling?" Teito asked quietly.

I rubbed my face with still clammy hands. "Terrible. I think that was one of the worst, I've ever had."

"I'd say you were almost out of it for twenty minutes."

I laughed dryly.

Mikami brushed a few strands of hair away from my face, "As soon as you feel strong enough I want you to go take a shower and then I'll examine you before you go straight to bed."

"What about dinner?" I mumbled only just realising that we hadn't eaten yet.

"I'll bring it to you in bed." Teito answered.

I nodded and stood up on wobbly legs using my brother as a crutch. "Okay," I mumbled before stumbling over to the bathroom.

The cool water streaming over my body was rather relaxing. I could never understand people who liked showering in warm water. Once again this was so frustrating, why did I have to have this medical condition? I couldn't even have a proper argument without worrying over my health. I banged my fist on the tiled wall of the shower in frustration. I was still feeling slightly out of it and my arms were still trembling lightly. Why me? That was a question I had asked myself for as long as I could remember. Why did all of these things seem to happen to me? I'd been having these panic attacks even before my parents died, but they'd been getting worse since we came to Karakura. I don't know maybe there was something in the air. Or maybe it was because I was starting to go through puberty as Mikami had said. I sighed; someone should come up with a cure for anxiety disorders. I couldn't imagine what would happen if I had an attack during school. Well, for one Adachi would forever lord it over me, but I wasn't sure how Ariwa and Kasai would react. I shook my head only then realising that I was still a bit woozy also. Damn, that really had been a bad one. As I looked back on it, it really seemed terrible.

Then all of a sudden a man's face flashed in front of my eyes. It was brief, but I felt sudden anger well up in my chest but there was also something else; underlying fear, terror even. The tremor in my hands became more pronounced and my stomach turned. What the hell? I had never even seen that man in my life before, why was I scared of him? Heck, he was wearing square glasses and didn't even look like he could hurt a fly; well his smile had seemed sincere enough. I shivered involuntarily as I realised that that same face had been flashing in front of my face during the panic attack. Okay, that was weird. Maybe I had seen him in some movie or other, but no Mikami didn't let me watch horror movies. She was afraid that I would suffer a breakdown during one of them. I tended to get into movies; it wasn't my fault. But then back to the man ; who was he? Where had I seen him before? And the scary thing was that he looked so familiar. Oh my god, there was a killer coming for me! He had to be a stalker or something. I must have seen a flash of him somewhere before-

"Koko-chan, are you alright in there?" There was a knock on the bathroom door. I hurriedly turned off the shower only just noticing that the water was freezing and my finger tips were turning blue. How long had I been in there for?

"Yeah," I called out.

"You sure; you've been in there for almost an hour."

Oh. Well that would explain my fingers. "Well I'm out now."

I dried myself and wrapped the towel firmly around my waist. I pulled open the door to see Teito standing outside with a mug of hot tea in his hands. He examined me for a short while before glancing into the bathroom.

"Geez, Koko-chan you're going to catch hypothermia showering in such cold water. The bathroom's like an ice cube!"

I shrugged; I had always liked the cold. It didn't bother me much.

"Anyway, how're yah feeling?"

I shrugged again, "Better you could say."

He nodded, "Go put on your pyjamas, Mikami is coming in a bit. I made _domburi_ for dinner if you want some."

"Yeah thanks." I stumbled past him and into my room. I heard him sigh before going back to the kitchen.

I really must be a hassle to them. It made me feel sick to my stomach; I hated having to depend on them like this. Mikami had to be constantly checking me over and Teito was on edge most of the time, though he hid it well. I shut the door and leaned against it. Why couldn't I just be normal? A knock on the door broke my train of thought.

"Hyōka?" Mikami called from the other side.

"Don't come in, I'm dressing." I quickly went over to my drawers and pulled on a pair of boxers, "Okay, you can come now." I sat down on my bed as the door slowly swung open. Mikami walked in with her bag of medical equipment. She sat down next to me.

"So feeling any better?"

I nodded. "Hungry though."

She smiled. I hardly ate though, but when I did I think I ate enough to feed two people.

"That's good. So, I'm just going to check your breathing and look for any abnormalities. Have you been coughing?"

"Have I been coughing, Mikami?" I raised an eyebrow.

"... Sorry protocol. Anyway sit up straight and breathe normally." She pulled out a stethoscope and pulled it up to her ears.

I did as I was told; the metal end was cold against my chest. She moved it around for a while, a frown growing on her face. She then moved it onto my back and listened again. This time her frown deepened. Okay so something was wrong. I sighed, this was just perfect.

"What's wrong?" I asked as she pulled the stethoscope out of her ears.

She rubbed her face and looked at me, "Nothing. There's nothing wrong. I don't see any reason why your chest should be hurting you."

I raised an eyebrow, "See I told you it was nothing to worry about. You just jump to conclusions too often."

She didn't look phased, "Maybe you just pulled a muscle. Where exactly did it hurt?"

I rolled my eyes and pointed to the spot just above my heart.

".. Your birth mark? That's odd."

My whole being was odd. The birth mark she was referring to could hardly be classified as a birth mark. It looked like a scar, a rather deep one at that, it even felt like one. Anyone would have thought it was from a stab wound or something, except I had been born with it. I was a regular phenomenon wasn't I? Note the sarcasm.

She shrugged, "Well I guess it is nothing serious then. Are you sure, it doesn't hurt too much?"

I nodded.

"..Okay then," she smiled and ruffled my hair, "Just get a good night's rest, Hyōka. No sleeping pills tonight, Hagino-san's orders."

I bit my lip, but what about the dreams? Mikami must have sensed my unease, because she pulled me into a hug. "Don't worry about it; nothing can hurt you in your sleep."

Yeah right. Just then Teito decided to come in with my dinner. Upon seeing us in the hug, he placed the bowl of _domburi_ on my desk he came over to us and enveloped the both of us in his arms.

"I don't know what this is for, but I just felt like joining the moment." I rolled my eyes.

Mikami laughed, "You big oaf, Teito, let go you're crushing us."

He grinned. "This is rather comfortable actually. I don't think I want to let go."

"Teito!" We both yelled. I was squashed between Mikami's chest and his stomach; it wasn't exactly the most comfortable position in the world. I loved the two of them but not this much. He chuckled but released us anyway. Such was a regular night in the Takemitsu household.

I tried not to fall asleep that night. I lay in my bed until the wee hours of the morning thinking about everything except sleep. I didn't want to sleep. I would not let myself sleep. I knew I was going to feel it tomorrow, but I would go crazy if I had another one of those dreams. I pinched myself if I felt myself starting to drift off, I tossed and turned, I even did sang rock songs in my head just to keep from falling asleep. But at around three thirty in the morning I gave up. Mikami was going to kill me when she found out and Teito was going to be in my butt, but I had to get out of bed and do something. I sat up and turned on my bedside lamp.

"You're never going to get any sleep if you keep on moving around like that."

I wasn't even surprised anymore. I lost track of how many ghosts found their way into my room in the three months we've been here. This time it was a pudgy old woman in a disgustingly pink dress. They came and went as they pleased. I didn't care too much except when they decided to jump out the window... Anyway, they seemed attracted to me. Even at school I saw many of them. I ignored them then, even though Ariwa and Chou might have been able to see them too. I never asked just in case I was wrong.

"That's the plan." I muttered back.

The ghost frowned, "That's no good, little boy's like you need their sleep."

I felt a mild irritation at being called a little boy. I was twelve damn it, basically a teenager. "And old women like you should shut up and pass on!"

"Well I never..."she took offence and disappeared from my sight. Good riddance too. I didn't need the dead berating me as well. That was what Mikami was there for. I swung my feet over the side of the bed and groped around with my left hand for Hyourinmaru, he had fallen off the bed sometime earlier. Yeah, I still sleep with him. My hand enclosed around his limp tail and I marched off to the living room.

After doing a short lap around the room I sat down on the couch and flicked on the T.V. I knew that there was nothing interesting on at this hour, but I needed a distraction. I was beginning to feel sleepy and I needed to counter it immediately. I put it on mute so that I wouldn't wake Teito or Mikami. They would have sent me to bed if they found out that I was awake at this hour. I was staring at some game show, one of the ones where they ask ridiculously easy questions. I rolled my eyes this guy wasn't serious; he was flunking out big time. Who did not know that the slogan for the cold war was 'better red than dead'? I snorted, 'Which ethnic group was responsible for most of railways in the US?' duh the Chinese. I couldn't believe this man.

"Listen to him, Hyourinmaru." I muttered to the stuffed dragon. "I should be on one of these game shows; I'd be a millionaire by now."

The dragon just stared at me with his red button eyes. I sighed, talking to a stuffed animal now? Yeah, I definitely lost it. "You don't think I'm crazy, do you?"

I made him nod his head. I laughed quietly at myself and brought the dragon into my chest. He may have been old and washed out but he was still soft and comforting. I had no idea myself why I was attached to this dragon. I just always remember him being around, and I felt strange when he was not there. I don't know like I was missing something, like I had forgotten my pants or something. Well it used to be like that, now I just have to know where he is twenty-four seven. I don't care how much Teito teased me or Mikami told me that I was too old for him I was not giving him up.

I turned my attention back to the television, great an ad for some old people bath was on. Oh, bingo with Tenten Higurashi was next! I should get out my board and play along! I rolled my eyes, okay next channel. Some horror show was playing, well that should keep me awake. It was going well until I saw someone get stabbed through the gut with a flag pole. Okay maybe horror wasn't my best choice either. Ah, anime is always safe. But it was one of those girly ones; I think I threw up a little in my mouth. Then other option was one of those reality dating shows for pathetic rich dudes who couldn't get any action otherwise. The drama would keep me awake at least. I sighed and leaned back into the couch.

"At least it's not a soap opera, right Hyourinmaru?" I lifted him up above my face. The light from the television made his baby blue fur seem white, like a ghost. I wonder what happened to that fat old woman; she had just disappeared... Oh well.

I sat watching the stupid show for around twenty minutes, one of the girls had ruined another one's date and now they were having some serious fight. Then all the girl's clothes had gone into the pool and of course that had caused physical attacks as in punching, scratching, kicking etc. It was actually entertaining to see them fight in at least twenty pounds of make-up and seven inch high heels. Oh, Monica was so being sent home after this... Ah who am I kidding I was bored out of my wits and falling asleep on myself. I didn't care if one of the girls got sent home, they should all die of syphilis for all I cared; they obviously were whores.

I rolled over on the couch so that I was upside down. The blood rushing to my head should keep me awake for a while. I stayed like that until my head started to hurt and even then I felt my eyes starting to droop.

Damn it no! I can't afford to fall asleep! What could I do? I had tired watching TV... Oh, reading – I could finish that book Mikami had bought me – and coffee, a big mug of coffee should do the trick. It took me around fifteen minutes to gather everything I needed. I lay down in the middle of the living room with punk rock music blasting though the head phones of my iPod, a large mug of black coffee, my book, and of course Hyourinmaru. Okay, that should keep me up until morning. It was unfortunate that I fell asleep in about three minutes.

...

"_Is that the best you can do?"_

_I spun around to see him. I called him 'him' because I had no idea who the hell he was. He was the man I saw in most of my dreams, the one with the annoying brown hair, and the smirk of a bastard. _

_I let loose a growl and held my sword out at him. "Don't get cocky, Bastard; I'm going to hack you to pieces!"_

_He raised an eyebrow, "Oh really, how is that so when you can't even protect the ones you hold dear?"_

"_What?" My stomach sank as I spun around to see a girl with brown hair tied up in a bun, a ginger woman, a man with long white hair, and a number of other people. Their faces were all blurry but they all wore black kimonos and were all held captive by monsters in white clothes. What the hell? How did this happen._

"_If you had been stronger then this wouldn't have happened." He taunted. _

_I felt anger flare up in my chest, "I'm going to murder you for doing this!"_

"_I don't think so." _

"_BASTARD!" I yelled and swung my sword at his head, or rather where his head should have been. He wasn't there anymore. I gasped and spun around searching for him. I heard him laugh._

"_You're pathetic."_

_I couldn't even register what happened next. I looked down and saw the cross gaud of his sword pressed against my chest, right above my heart. The blade was buried deep in my body, his hand held it firmly in place. As his laughter grew sudden, unbearable pain blossomed throughout my chest._

"_B-bast-t-tard..." I managed to stammer as blood dripped out of my mouth. _

_My vision began to swim and I began to feel light headed. The sword was ripped out of my chest but all I saw was an explosion of red. I wasn't sure if it was just my imagination or if all that blood had really just come spurting out of my body. And then the pain hit, mind numbing pain, I coughed again causing my chest to feel like it was going to tear open from the pressure and I was choking on the blood. _

"_Weak, that's what you are."_

_I began to fall. Wind whipped at my kimono and my skin. I was so high up that the tops of the skyscrapers looked like grey blocks. Oh, yeah I was afraid of heights too wasn't I? Everything was so jumbled up now that I couldn't tell if I was panicking or not. I knew I must have been though. Even with all the blood I was losing my heart rate still sped up causing the blood to flow faster and faster out of my body._

"_Pathetic."_

_Blackness began to swim in the corners of my eyes._

"_Failure."_

_The buildings drew closer at an alarming rate._

"_Unable to protect those who you hold dear."_

_I felt my body grow cold._

"_Inadequate."_

_Numb,_

"_Powerless."_

_Black. _

I awoke with a jolt to a blood curling scream. Was I still dreaming? I wasn't sure. Everything was hazy, confused. I must have been dreaming otherwise why would my chest be hurting so? I coughed tasting something metallic and warm in my mouth. My head was still spinning, and if felt as though I was paralyzed. I kept my eyes closed, fearing that if I opened them I would see 'him' again. God, why did everything hurt so much?

"Teito! Teito! Come quick!"

"What! What's going on?"

Damn it, stop shouting; my head hurts. Couldn't they tell I was in pain? Or was it all 'his' doing as well?

"God Damn it, Hyōka!"

My ears were ringing I really wished that they would just shut up. I coughed again, it hurt to breathe, much less to cough. My chest was on fire. As soon as I could get up I was going to murder 'him' for doing this to me.

"Mikami, what do we do? Where's all this blood coming from?!"

"I don't know he was fine when I checked him over last night. Oh my god, Hyōka!"

Whoever was shouted sounded distraught. I wondered if they cared about me. But no they should leave. 'He' would get them if they stayed. I'll warn them as soon as I get up. I took a raspy breath, my chest felt like it was going to rip open, but I was becoming more and more light-headed by the second.

"He's coughing it up! It has to be coming from his lungs!"

"But there was nothing wrong, I checked last night!"

"Well there's something wrong now!"

What where they still doing here? 'He's' gonna come any minute now. And enough with the shouting already, my headache was getting worse by the second.

"I can't do anything for him with the stuff I have here. We need to bring him to the hospital!"

"Get his stuff, then, Hurry!"

All this shouting... I couldn't take it much longer. Noise torture, must have been 'his' doing. I coughed once, twice, three times. Damn that hurt. I felt my breath come out in shallow puffs after and something warm tricked down my chin and neck.

"His breathing in slowing down! Mikami! Hyōka, hold on there, don't give up on us!"

"Oh God, Hyōka! Teito hold him up straight, let's go!"

These two... what the hell was going on? Who the hell were they? They were working for 'him' weren't they? They had to be. I didn't know them. That was the only reasonable explanation- damn my chest.

"Damn it I can feel him slipping, I don't think we can make it in time to the hospital!"

"H-Hyōka... okay we'll go to my work... The family clinic down the street Teito!"

Hospital? Was that where they were brining me? Didn't they know that 'he' would just come after me again? It didn't make any sense. But maybe I could trust these people, whoever they were.

"Koko-chan, hold on where almost there; just a few more minutes."

Koko-chan... Now why did that sound so familiar? Damn... chest, a fit of coughing overtook my system. I laughed inwardly; 'he' had really destroyed me hadn't he? Looks like I wasn't going to get my revenge after all.

"Welcome to the Kuro- OH MY GOD WHAT HAPPENED, MIKAMI!?"

Mikami? Mikami... Everything was so confused, all grey and blotchy, it made my head hurt. All that fuzz blocking out my thoughts. I couldn't concentrate. I couldn't - Mikami! Teito! I had to warn them I had to-

My eyes flew open and I jolted upright, wincing at a sharp pain in my chest. I frowned at the pain. Where had that come from?

"Whoa, easy there kid." A firm yet gentle hand pushed me back down into the bed.

I scowled, "I'm not a kid. And where am I anyway." I glanced around the room. There were two cots lined up against the wall and various trays of medical equipment lying around. The room smelt of disinfectant and everything looked repulsively clean. A hospital? No it was way too small. And plus why would I be in a hospital? I was completely fine. To prove my point I tried to swing my legs over the edge of the bed. I was stopped by the same hand. Okay, what the hell?

"I said take it easy; you only just woke up."

I rolled my eyes. The hand felt like Teito's; large and calloused. Why was my brother trying to stop me from getting out of bed? So what if I had a panic attack the night before. It didn't mean that I was unfit to get out of bed.

"Cut it out Teito. I-"

"You're still delusional, kid. You've been out of it for an entire day, and now you think you can just waltz out of bed like it was nothing. You're really special."

Okay so that wasn't Teito. And what did he mean by the entire day? Confused I looked up to see who this man was exactly. He was wearing a doctor's coat, so yeah; this was a hospital of some sort. Or maybe the clinic in which Mikami worked at. But whatever, all I could really focus on was his face. He had brow eyes and fiery, orange hair. Now _that_ was something interesting. He seemed familiar somehow like I had met him before, but of course I hadn't. I frowned; I hated being confused.

"Who the hell are you?"

He snickered, "How polite. The name's Kurosaki Ichigo, pleased to meet you." He extended his hand to shake.

I hesitated; even his name sounded familiar. "Do I know you?"

* * *

**Enter Kurosaki Ichigo! duhn duhn duuuuuuuuuuuuhn**

**So things are going to get heated up in a while. What's going on with Hyoka? Sure seems to have a lot of problems don't cha think, well now it seems more sensible doesn't it. They could be memories or maybe he's just crazy take ur pick. Yes Ichigo is a doctor, and since this takes place 12 years in the future since Hyoka was born with Hitsugaya died, so Ichigo would be around 27 years old. And if you haven't realized I decided to change a few things around. Ichigo did not lose his shinigami powers and Aizen did not lose the war... yet. But I'm keeping Gin dead and Momo still got stabbed. And also when Aizen delivered that kick-$$ blow to Hitsugaya and the other captains let's just say he got stabed through the chest and died rather than loosing and arm and leg. brutal I know, but the fic requires that I do so. Hope you liked it btw! ^^**

**Oh and I have a question. Anybody is free to answer, I just want an answer. Does anybody have the vaguest idea what month the winter war took place in? I'm completely at loss here... and I'ts kind of important for this fic, so please anybody answer me!**

**Review please^^**

**-Mymomomo**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 people. Sorry for the Delay there has been some glitches with the site lately and I Couldn't edit the story. (For those who are having problems as well just replace the word property with content in the URL, it should work as well). Thanks to all the reviewers and even those who just put this story on alerts and such, it was really encouraging.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter as well and I hope to dear god that I did Ichigo justice, it's my first time writing for him.**

**Edit: 04/07/13**

* * *

"What do you mean I have to spend the night here?!" That would be me yelling my head off. I was blasted fine. Okay, I had woken up only two hours ago, but that did not mean anything. I was perfectly healthy, aside from a slight discomfort in my chest, but who was paying attention to that anyway?

I turned to my sister. Surely she wouldn't force me to stay here for the night.

"Don't give me that face, Hyōka," she folded her arms across her chest, "You're staying here."

"But why? There's nothing wrong with me!"

She raised an eyebrow, "Nothing wrong with you? Oh so we can just forget the fact that you were unconscious and coughing up blood for the entire day."

"... I don't remember any of that. But I'm fine now! Let me go home!" I was honest to god begging now. I had spent enough time in the hospital to know that I hated it. Even when I wasn't a patient the entire atmosphere was off-putting. They just gave me the chills; even this clinic was making me feel uneasy. I don't know how anybody could stand being a doctor.

"Trust me; I want you home as much as you want to be home, but we can't do that; not with what happened last night."

"But I'm feeling fine right now."

"Yeah but it's just a precaution; we don't want it happening again. "

"But Mikami!"

"No buts, Hyōka. If you were able to come home then you would; just deal with it."

"I don't want to!" I folded my arms across my chest. Okay, I knew that I was being childish, but they were forcing me to stay in a hospital like I was diseased or something. I was going to take offense and make this as difficult for them as possible.

Mikami blew a lock of hair from in front of her face. "I'll be back with your pyjamas and stuff-"

"That won't be necessary because I'm not staying here."

"Hyōka-"

"What's going on here?" We both turned to see Ichigo enter the room.

Great now there were two of them. I rolled my eyes. Doctors making my life hell one day at a time. Of course he was going to say I had to stay there. It was because of him that I was still in a bed for crying out loud. I don't know who the hell had put him in charge.

"Trying to convince Hyōka that he has to stay here for the night." Mikami mumbled.

For some reason that caused Ichigo to burst out laughing.

"What the hell are you on?" I deadpanned.

"Hyōka!" Mikami admonished. She was obviously embarrassed as she sent me a death glare. I guess having her little brother insulting her boss didn't lie in her good books. I raised an eyebrow like I said I was going to make this as difficult as possible for them.

"No, Mikami, it's alright. He just reminds me of someone, that's all. If we didn't sedate him the entire time he was in the hospital he would have run off. Don't get any ideas, Hyōka; I will sedate you if I have to." He smiled at me.

I rolled my eyes, but was quiet otherwise. I don't know, there was something about this Ichigo person. I had this feeling that I knew him but I had never met him in my life before. And he was as exasperating as hell. I felt a mild annoyance every time he opened his mouth and the smile he constantly wore looked fake like he was forcing it. Like behind that smile he was really stressed out and wanted to kill somebody; it was probably me at the moment, though. However, that aside he sure was amusing; if he wasn't a doctor I might have liked him. More so if he wasn't forcing me to stay here against my will.

"So are you going to be a good boy, Hyōka?" He raised an orange eyebrow.

Okay scratch that. There was no way I was going to like him if he kept on talking to me like I was a five year old.

"That's depends are you going to let me go home?"

I heard Mikami growl softly.

"I have to say no to that one." He scratched the back of his neck.

I folded my arms across my chest. "Then you have the answer to your question as well."

Ichigo's smile dropped a little. He sighed turning to Mikami. "This kid, how do you deal with him?"

"And I'm not a freaking kid!"

He looked at me out of the corner of his eyes. I swear I saw something that looked like utter shock. Oh and that wasn't one of the worst words I knew. I glared back at him.

"Language, Hyōka, watch it." Mikami warned, "As you can see with much trouble."

Then the fake smile was back into place. For some strange reason I hated it; it made me angry. "And you can drop that goody-doctor act; I know you're faking it."

He raised an eyebrow in my direction. "What act?"

"You damn well know what I mean, Kurosaki."

So I guess that came as a surprise also. Yeah, I could be rude when I wanted to. A total brat as Teito often put it. There it was again the brief flicker of shock across his face as he stared at me. I've been stared at before, but this time it honestly unnerved me. He looked at me so intently that I felt like I was butt naked under his gaze. I reluctantly looked away, that was the first time I had ever lost a staring competition. But what the hell was with that look?

"Is there something on my face?" I sneered, enough of the staring already. It wasn't as if he hadn't seen someone with white hair or whatever before. And he definitely wasn't one to talk about weird colouring.

Mikami shot me a death glare. Actually, it was best that I wasn't going home that night; Mikami was going to kill me for what I just did. Okay, I didn't think through this plan thoroughly enough. I admit it; it was flawed.

"I'm so sorry, Kurosaki-san." She said, drawing his attention away from me. "I have no idea what's got into him; he normally isn't _this_ rude."

He waved a hand passively. "No, no it's okay; I've dealt with much worse brats before." He glanced over at me on the word brat.

So he was looking for some trouble. "How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not a kid?!"

He chuckled, but even I could tell that it was forced, and a little uneasy. "Um, will you two excuse me, for a moment, I have to answer this call." He left the room suddenly.

"Lies." I muttered, "His phone didn't ring; it didn't even vibrate."

Mikami slapped her forehead, "Why do you always have to embarrass me in front of my bosses? If you weren't sick right now, Hyōka..." she let the threat hang.

"But I'm _not_ sic..." I cut my self off shutting my mouth with a pop. Okay, I won't argue this time; it would be smart not to. And I liked to think of myself as being smart.

She shook her head. "Well, I'll go to get your stuff now. Do you need anything in particular?"

I sighed, resigning myself to my fate, "Just don't forget Hyourinmaru."

"Okay, Teito said that he was going to come visit you after work."

I sighed again. Mikami rolled her eyes and pulled me into a brief hug. "Don't worry, Hyōka, tomorrow will be here soon and you'll be out of this place. Behave yourself, okay?"

...

After Teito and Mikami had left (for the second time) Ichigo pulled up a chair next to my bed.

"I guess this means you want to talk right?" I sighed.

He ignored my question, "Is that you're brother? He's huge!" He asked, his brown eyes going wide. "Mikami said that he was big, but I didn't know she meant that big! How often does he work out?!"

I couldn't hold back the chuckle. Teito was intimidating; I felt sorry for those who got on his bad side. Maybe that's why he had so many friends.

"On the police force back in Tokyo, that was pretty standard. It's your suckish force here that makes him stand out like that."

Ichigo shrugged, "I guess you're right; the police here are a bit soft, but you're brother... wow."

"You're pretty buff as well." I noted. I could see his muscles through his doctors' coat when he stretched. "Do you work out too; I can't really imagine a doctor getting much exercise at work."

He paused, "... Yeah, I work out... well something like that."

I leaned back into my pillow, "So you wanted to talk?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Well you pulled up a chair and everything and I can't use it at the moment. So, I'm going to assume that you wanted to ask me something."

"Yeah, I did want to ask you a couple questions."

I sighed, "Are they the standard medical questions because I thought you asked me all of those when I woke up."

"No getting around you is there? A few of them are for my own curiosity."

I snorted. He was interested in me? Yeah right. I had no idea what he was playing at right now but he was acting strange. Might as well go along with it, for now at least.

"It's the hair isn't it? I don't bleach it if that's what you were getting at."

He paused before laughing this time running a hand through his own outrageously coloured hair. "I honestly wasn't going to ask you about that. I mean come on look at me; why would _I _ask anyone else about their hair? Plus, I can't imagine any seven year old bleaching their hair."

"Seven year old... hold on a second, how old do you think I am?"

"I just said so didn't I?"

"Idiot! I'm twelve!"

"Twelve! But aren't you a little small for your age?"

"Aren't you a little stupid for yours?"

He chuckled, "So I take it size is a touchy subject with you huh?" I glared at him, "But we're getting off the topic here. What's a... twelve year old like you doing with an anxiety disorder?"

I shrugged, "I've had it since I was little."

"Interesting, I've never met someone so young with this kind of problem."

"Yeah I'm famous for stumping doctors with my problems." I muttered snidely.

"What do you mean by that?" He frowned.

"The Anxiety disorders, I have no reason to have them, I just do. Then there's my hair – a birth defect; my mother was nearly fifty when I came along."

His frowned deepened and I sighed inwardly with relief. He seemed more familiar with the scowl. Wait... he was not familiar at all; I had never seen him in my life before, what was I thinking?

"Wow, kid, anything else I should know about?"

"I'm afraid of heights if that counts for anything. And stop calling me a kid!" I spat. Again with the kid comments. I was nearly thirteen damn it, how was that childish?!

"Sorry but I find that a little hard to do since your snuggling with a stuffed dragon."

I glanced down at Hyourinmaru in my arms he looked innocently back up at me. I glared back up at Ichigo. "Don't make fun, Kurosaki. His name is Hyourinmaru."

I think Ichigo froze in time for a minute. If I had thought he looked shocked before, well I was wrong. Heh, that seemed to be happening a lot lately, I needed to work on that. His jaw actually dropped and he blinked stupidly a couple of times.

"Close your mouth, your brain's in danger of falling out. Heaven knows it could fit."

His reaction to my jab was somewhat not expected. Instead of defending himself or laughing like he usually did he stood up abruptly and uneasily.

"Um excuse me for a second, I think I hear the phone ringing." With that he left the room.

He really needed a new excuse. Once again the phone had not rung. I stared after him. What the hell was that about? Did I say something? The last time I checked Hyourinmaru was not a scary name or anything. Kasai had near wet herself laughing when she had found out about him. Though, that might not have been because of his name. But whatever, why had he just up and left like that? Did I smell or something?

"I'm telling you he's sitting right in front of me!"

I heard Ichigo's voice echo back into the room. He must have been standing right outside the door. So, naturally I had to listen.

"Of course it's him... what do you mean that's impossible... look I have my proof okay, why should you doubt me... I wouldn't lie about something like this... "

So something fishy was up and it definitely involved me. I narrowed me eyes. Once again I had never met the man before in my life I didn't see why he should be so interested. And now this random phone call? Was he planning to abduct me or something? You see, this was precisely why I hated hospitals. Doctors were all creeps, Mikami included. And I had to spend an entire night with him? I don't think so; I would rather die.

With that thought I swung my legs over the side of the bed, picked up my dragon, and was about to high tail it out of there.

"Just where to do think you're going?"

I spun to see the red headed doctor re-enter the room with his arms across his chest and a scowl on his face.

"Bathroom."

"You're going the wrong way then."

We stared at each other for what seemed like an hour and then finally he looked away with an odd expression on his face. It was a cross between disbelief and confusion. I won that round. But my celebrations were short lived.

"Get back in bed, Hyōka," he sighed, "you shouldn't be up anyway. As fine as you may feel we cannot forget the fact that you were unwell for most of the day."

I relented, "Do you know what was wrong with me?" it couldn't hurt to ask.

He shrugged, "You probably managed to rip something in your lung; it's kind of confusing seeing as your fine now. And where did you get that scar?" As an afterthought he added, "If you don't mind me asking."

One word; tactless. As a doctor he should at least have an ounce of bedside manner. I shuffled back to my bed, "It's not a scar," I told him over my shoulder, "I was born with it; it's a birthmark."

"..Oh, can you excuse me for a seco-"

"Sure go answer your phantom phone, Kurosaki. I'm on to you."

He chuckled and scratched the back of his neck before rushing out of the room again. I sighed; he was a peculiar man that was for sure.

"_Is that the best you can do? The gotei 13 is getting softer as we speak."_

_I let loose a growl and held my sword out at him. "Don't get cocky, Bastard; I'm going to hack you to pieces!"_

_He raised an eyebrow, "Oh really, how is that so when you can't even protect the ones you hold dear?"_

"_What?" My stomach sank as I spun around to see a girl with brown hair tied up in a bun, a ginger woman, a man with long white hair, and a number of other people. Their faces were all blurry but they all wore black kimonos and were all held captive by monsters in white clothes. What the hell? How did this happen._

"_If you had been stronger then this wouldn't have happened," he taunted. _

_I felt anger flare up in my chest, "I'm going to murder you for doing this!" I paused. From the corner of my eye I saw a man... no teenager, with flaming orange hair. He was staring at the scene. I couldn't make out any other features from this distance, but I could tell that he was looking at him with just as much anger as I felt. _

"_You shouldn't look away in the middle of a battle." _

_I couldn't even register what happened next. I looked down and saw the cross gaud of his sword pressed against my chest, right above my heart -_

"Toushiro, wake up!"

Someone was shaking me roughly. I woke up with a jolt and a searing pain in my chest. I sprung upright in the bed gasping for air like there was no tomorrow. Not that dream again. Why was it always that dream? I hated that dream. I closed my eyes for a second, but his face flashed in front of my eyes. The next thing I knew I was short of breath and cold sweat began to form on my body. I bit my lip as waves of terror began to sweep over me. So right after the dream I just had to have a panic attack. I curled up into a ball and waited for it to end. Angry colours swam before my eyes and I could feel my limbs trembling violently. Somewhere in the back of my mind I felt someone pull me into a hug and heavily muscled arms were wrapped around my shoulders. Teito? No, this person was much smaller. I couldn't even concentrate on the stranger who was trying to comfort me. It was like black froth was bubbling up in my stomach. I felt sick. Maybe it was because even though I was unaware of what was going on I knew that I was somewhere new, and that neither Teito nor Mikami were there with me, but the panic was more pronounced. I heard voices in my head. But they weren't talking. I heard shouts of pain, anger, and battle cries. I acknowledged the clang of metal against metal and quick footsteps and a whole lot of other things that I couldn't make out. It was complete chaos. And my mind stretched it out, turned it inside out and threatened to teat itself apart. I clutched my head and felt a few fat, hot tears leak out of the corners of my eyes. This was the worse headache I had ever had even worse than a migraine because it was coupled with all the other symptoms of a regular panic attack: the trembling, the cold sweat, the overwhelming terror, and the fact that I could do nothing about it.

Then when I thought things couldn't get any worse they stopped. And all of a sudden I was enveloped in... I don't know how to describe it; I just felt safe. There was this warm... pressure that surrounded me and blocked out everything else. But it wasn't like this gentle, I don't know, like a total benevolent pressure. It was sharp and strong and had physically chased off the bad feelings. I knew that it could be worse than the bad feelings; it had the potential to hurt more. But I felt safe around it, calm even. The terror I had felt earlier didn't slowly vanish; it had just disappeared.

Slowly as my breathing rate evened out and my heart beat slowed down, I opened my eyes. Everything was a bit hazy but I could make out Ichigo staring over me. So that's who had tried to comfort me. He was sitting on the bed right next to me and I was basically in his lap. Well this was embarrassing.

"You okay, kid?" He asked, his brown eyes, shone with concern in the dark.

"I am now. What was that?"

"You tell me. One minute you were sleeping fine, the next you started gasping for air and clutching your chest. I woke you up but the shock seemed to trigger a panic attack."

"Oh." I took a few deep breaths again, I still felt a bit shaky. "Kurosaki?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't let me fall asleep again."

* * *

**It wasn't too bad was it? Anyone else notice Ichigo's big slip up?**

**If you didn't guess already, the pressure that Hyoka felt was Ichigo's reiatsu, I thought it was appropriate, idk why though.**

**I think it must be unnerving to have someone who was supposed to be dead suddenly sitting in front of you.**

**So reviews are welcome, I'd love to know what you people think.**

**-Mymomomo**


	5. Chapter 5

**chapter 5 ^^**

**School can be a real pain, I've been so packed lately it's not even funny. This week is going to be even worse, and I also have SAT's coming up in May and My school exams in June so updates are going to get really slow from here on out. Sorry.**

**so I left you guys on a some what cliff-hanger last time, heh, Well I to think of something to keep everyone interested. I'm really thrilled by how popular this is turning out and i thank every one who has read, reviewed, put this on story alerts or on their fav list ^^**

**But enough of this onwards to the chapter!**

**Edit: 21/07/13**

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

I rolled my eyes for what must have been the thousandth time that day, folded my arms across my chest, and glared at my best friend. "Look, do you want me to come or not?"

Ariwa shot me an exasperated look. "Yes, I want you to come but not if you're sick."

"Okay, then I'm coming."

"But, Hyōka you missed two days of school. There's no way Mikami is going to let you come to my soccer match."

Didn't this boy know me by now? I sighed, "Who said that I was going to ask Mikami?"

The expression on his face was priceless; it was like he found out that I was moving to Antarctica to study penguins or something. "You mean you're going to sneak out? Hyōka are you crazy?" He blanched, "You're going to get grounded for this you know."

"Tell me something new," I shrugged.

"Please, Kazu," Kasai butt in, "he's always grounded; what's one or two more weeks gonna do?"

I glared in her direction. I was not always grounded; I just happened to be last week... and the week before that. The Punishment had lost all effect by this time. Being grounded for me was almost like a state of being. And why had I been grounded? For fighting with Adachi, that's why, but in my defence he had it coming to him; he shouldn't have been stuffing people in lockers anyway.

"Mikami is coming home late tonight and Teito is on duty for the weekend. I'll be back before she is. And plus, it's a Saturday; do you really expect me just to sit around here doing nothing?" I ignored Kasai.

She turned to Ariwa, flicking a lock of blue hair behind her shoulder, "should we let him come?"

"I wasn't asking for your permission," I spat, "I'm _telling_ the two of you that I'm coming."

They glanced at each other again and both shrugged. They knew that once I had my mind set on something that there was no changing it. And plus I had been cooped up in the apartment and hospital for two days; I needed to get out.

I grabbed a jacket from my closet and we were out the door in less than five minutes. Ariwa had his match at the school field. They were playing some rival school. I didn't really care which one; it wasn't any of my concern. Kasai and Ariwa seemed to be in a hurry they basically power walked the entire way despite my pleas from them to slow down. When they walked quickly I basically had to jog to keep up considering the top of my head was level with Ariwa's shoulder and Kasai was about a head taller than me as well. Karakura Middle school was around a twenty minute walk from our apartment we made it in fifteen.

"You could have slowed down a bit," I growled, "It's not like we would have missed the game or anything."

They both ignored me already used to my grumbling.

"I have to go meet the rest of the team." Ariwa said as he began to make his way over to the field where several of his team members were already standing talking to the coach. However, before he managed to take even one step Kasai pulled him into a tight hug.

"Pummel them, Kazu." She said, her way of wishing him good luck.

He was grinning when she let go, "Thanks." He glanced at me unsurely.

Like hell I was going to hug him as well. "Don't get your hopes up Ariwa; I'm leaving the touchy feely-ness to Kasai."

Ariwa rolled his eyes, "How many times to I have to tell me to call me Kazu? Or if you can't do that at least Kazuya."

I shrugged; it was a habit. "Good luck by the way."

He sighed, "Thanks." With that he was off.

Ariwa was actually a pretty good soccer player. In the few times we've played together he had beaten me in almost every one. It hadn't been a surprise when he had made the team and was elected team captain. This was going to be the first game of the season, but I knew that they were going to do well.

"Let's go find a seat," Kasai said tapping me on my shoulder, "the stands are starting to fill out."

I nodded and followed her over to the bleachers. We both chose not to sit too far back; me for obvious reasons and she wanted to be close to the field but not so close that she was in danger of being hit by a ball. Occasionally the two of us watched the practices while we were waiting for Ariwa. One time she had gotten hit by a ball in the side of the head. I had tried to warn her honestly, but she was still mad at me for laughing afterwards. She never sat in the front row after that.

"Which team are they playing?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I can't remember the name; Kazu told me yesterday, but I forgot."

"Figures," I scoffed.

She punched me in the arm. "I'm not that forgetful, okay, I remember important stuff."

"Yeah, like the homework you ask me for every night even though I'm not in your class?"

She punched me again. "Shut up; you always know it anyway. And like you're one to talk."

"I am not the least bit forgetful," I stated.

"I meant about not doing homework."

"I have other things to be doing. Homework is trivial; I do enough not to get into trouble."

"Oh, 'cause picking fights with Adachi and getting detention is so much more productive than homework."

I rolled my eyes; why did people always assume that I was the one to pick the fights? Adachi was the one who did stuff to annoy me and when I confronted him about it... well, he preferred to talk with his fists than with his mouth. And so, of course I had to defend myself.

"You know, he was actually well behaved when you weren't there. Adachi, I mean, he didn't cause too much trouble. The most I saw was his taking some kid's lunch money and we both know that that's being nice for him," Kasai absentmindedly picked at her finger nails.

I sighed, so he saved his worst behaviour for me. I couldn't even count the times he tried to flush somebody's head down the toilet while I so happened to be in the bathroom. I think he was just looking for reasons to get me to fight with him. He would never dream of attacking me directly; I had made sure of that within the first couple days of school, but that still didn't stop him from trying. And speak of the devil, I saw him and his goons slide into a seat a few rows in front of us.

Kasai made a face at the back of his head. "He better not try anything today. Can you believe yesterday he ruined their practice? He turned on the sprinklers and the field was too muddy to play on afterwards."

"I think he's just jealous that he didn't make the team. I'm surprised he didn't go after the players." I shrugged. He had tried out, but he wasn't the best soccer player out there.

"Like I said he kept it to a minimum while you were away. I just think he wants to impress you."

"I feel so flattered."

"By the way, what happened to keep you out of school for two days?"

I hesitated. I obviously couldn't tell her that I had been coughing up blood because of some dream. "I had a really bad panic attack and Mikami didn't want to take any chances by sending me to school."

"But for two days? Aren't you usually fine after thirty minutes or so?" she frowned.

I shrugged, "It's Mikami; she over reacts."

"Yeah but two days seems like a bit much."

"She wanted me to rest too," I prayed that she would leave it be after this.

She cocked her head. "Well, you are always tired I can't blame her."

I let out an imaginary breath, "Yeah. Anyway, look they're starting."

We both turned our attention to the field just as the referee backed away from the ball. Ariwa had it down to the other team's end almost instantly. I grinned; the team would be so lost without him. Of course Kasai had to stand up and cheer. I rolled my eyes; she was so childish at times. Okay I admit that I was shouting his name too, but at least I didn't stand up to do it.

We shouted ourselves hoarse for the next twenty minutes. So far it had been a clean game only one person had been given a yellow card. It would have been an awesome game except for the fact that my mind seemed to wander away from the field. I got a feeling that something was coming. It was a familiar feeling like when a monster was near or something. It was a dark kind of sickening feeling. When they were really close it was like a wet cloth was placed over your nose and mouth or if you had drank bad, but this time the feeling was rather faint.

I swore under my breath. Just great, why the hell was one of them coming now? I hadn't seen many since the move to Karakura an odd one here or there. But the odd thing was that I often got the feeling like one of them was coming, however, before it got too strong for me to see the monster the feeling just disappeared like it had been killed or something. Heh, maybe the town had a monster patrol or something which killed them before they could get to the people. Yeah right, like that would ever happen. But it was still weird that they disappeared suddenly and without a trace before they could do much, if any, damage. Hmmm, Tokyo should have had one of those patrols... stupid imagination. There were no monster patrols; there were not enough people who could see them, much less battle or kill them. But back to the fact that there was a monster heading this way; it was still a long way off, judging by the strength of its aura.

I quickly glanced around for any signs that somebody else had noticed it as well. Nope, everyone else was consumed by the game and the monster was getting closer by the second. Well, crap. The patrol had better step on it. Then suddenly instead of getting stronger the aura weakened. I guess it had changed directions. I frowned; that was odd. These things usually attacked people; what the hell was it doing running in the opposite direction from a soccer match full to the brim of unsuspecting humans?

A suspicious action from Adachi two rows in front of me caught my glance. He was obviously up to no good. He was hunched over groping around for something in a bag at his feet while his two fellow bullies were snickering madly. I rolled my eyes and nudged Kasai.

"What?" she hissed, mad that I had distracted her from the game.

"Look." I pointed towards Adachi.

She frowned, "Great, what did I tell you, Hyōka? He just waits for you to pull some crap like this. What is he even doing by the way?"

I shrugged, "I'm going to keep an on him. I don't like the expression on his goons' faces."

She nodded, "Just don't do anything too stupid; Kazu may be a pushover but you disrupt his game and he'll murder you."

I glanced at the field scanning for Ariwa. He had just passed the ball to one of his team members to score a goal. It was blocked unfortunately; there was a simultaneous groan from the stands, but we were still in the lead; 3 – 1.

I did not let my eyes leave Adachi and what I saw was unbelievable. He pulled out a fire cracker from the bag and a lighter. Was he... Yes he was. I couldn't believe that oaf. Who the hell plans to throw a fire cracker onto a field full of soccer players? What an idiot. Someone could get seriously injured. I knew he wasn't afraid of hurting anybody but this wasn't just one person we were talking about and they weren't just people from our school either. I was about to jump up over to him but then I remembered what Kasai had just said. Ariwa would kick my butt if I did what I was thinking and that was no joke.

But back to Adachi, this was the exact kind of stuff that boiled my blood. I was going to murder him. I locked my gaze on the back of his head, mentally daring him to do it. Slowly I saw him raise his arm with the fire cracker in it the other hand fidgeted with the lighter. Seriously, how stupid could he be? I slowly bent down and untied my sneaker. Kasai glanced at me and mouthed 'what are you doing'. I pulled my shoe off my foot, took aim, and threw it forcefully at the back of Adachi's head. It made a nice thud, a really nice thud. I smirked as the idiot fell out of his seat. Kasai laughed out loud. He had been sitting in the front row, so he nearly went sprawling out onto the field. He sprung up almost instantly and searched the crowd for the person who had hit him. Our gazes locked. He knew it had to be me; I was the only person who would have dared to throw a shoe at the back of his head. We glared at each other for what seemed like hours. Everything melted away; it was just me and him. He snarled I mirrored it. I scowled he copied. He looked like he was ready to jump up the bleachers and attack me. I and thought, bring it on.

But of course nothing of that kind happened. What did happen was the monster's aura suddenly surged. Okay, so the patrol was off duty today. The air was suddenly a bit harder to breathe. No one else seemed to notice though. No... Adachi flinched and clutched the front of his shirt. My eyes widened. No! Of all the people who were able to notice... sense these monsters he had to be one of them. The hell! I wanted to kick something. Of all people why him? I did not want to deal with this crap right now. This probably meant that I had some sort of connection with him, and aurgh!

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I yelled.

Bad idea, Kasai basically pushed me out of my seat.

"I said not to do anything stupid. I won't deny the fact that you two are going to fight, but do it somewhere else!"

Was I really that predictable? Wow, my friend was so awesome. I glared at her, and then back at Adachi who was sneering at me.

"So are you coming down here, or do I have to come up there to get you, Gomi?"

I rolled my eyes, but what was really surprising was that everybody else was so focused on the game that they didn't even notice Adachi and me.

"Sit down in front! People are trying to watch the game here!"

Well almost everybody else was focused on the game.

"Well go on you're being a distraction." Kasai ordered me.

"Thanks for the back up." I rolled my eyes. And to make things even worse Adachi's goons had also got up and took their places on either side of him. He had his support, and I was getting kicked out of my own seat; gotta love karma. But as it turned out I didn't get kicked out of my seat I got pulled out of my seat. The ever impatient one, Adachi, decided that he was coming for me after all. I was too busy staring incredulously at Kasai to notice that he had run up to the third row and had grabbed me by the front of my shirt.

It goes without saying that much commotion was caused by this. It was then that other people began to notice our 'disagreement'. Well maybe that was because Adachi had shoved people out of their seats trying to get to me. More than a few people were now sprawled on the ground.

"What the hell are you doing?" I deadpanned yanking my shirt from his grasp; I got a split lip for all my trouble. But then the crowd started to react deciding that our fight was so much more interesting than the soccer game below. Figures; bring out the blood and people go wild. I don't know who said that humans are above animals because they were dead wrong. The seats immediately next to us cleared but people looked on intently. Kasai had dashed off after yelling at me for doing exactly what she warned me not to do. She probably went to get a teacher. Good, I didn't care if I got in trouble, but Adachi needed to be stopped. And if I couldn't do it we needed to call in someone of authority.

I tried to push him off of me. I knew he knew that when it really came down to things our size difference was just too great and he would have no trouble in a battle of strength. But it was hardly ever a battle of strength. I elbowed him in the chest successfully winding him and causing him to stumble back. I stood up and glared at him.

"What is your freaking problem?" I yelled.

He didn't answer but instead went at me again. He would have hit me if it wasn't for some man, I think one of the player's father pulling him back. I think he berated us, I wasn't listening. I glared at Adachi and he glared back at me.

"Try that again and I'll kill you," he sneered.

"Likewise, next time keep your stupid ideas inside your mind where they belong."

"You don't even know what I was planning to do!"

"Don't I? Anyone with half a brain could figure out what you were planning to do. Or were you too stupid to realise that?"

"You little..." he struggled against the man and I threw a dirty look at him.

"What is going on here?" The principal roared coming up to us. He was a tall thin man with a receding hairline. Wonderful.

Adachi being his moronic self decided once again to try to shift all the blame on me. "He started it!"

I rolled my eyes. "Don't you start that you little fuck!"

The principal turned red with anger; I could see the steam coming from his ears. "Takemitsu, Adachi I don't care what the problem is, follow me right now!"

We both knew when the battle was lost. Adachi sent me one last dirty look before turning and following the principal away from the bleachers.

He led us to the fence that ran around the field and glared at us with his arms folded across his chest. Adachi didn't even say anything and that was when I knew that we were in deep trouble... heh, whoops.

"Why is that it is always the two of you-"

"Don't lump me together with him, sir." I sneered.

"Don't interrupt me, Takemitsu! You're just as much at fault as Adachi. Now tell me exactly what happened so I don't expel you on the spot."

Adachi glanced at me and I knew that since he got caught he was going to drag me through hell as well. "He threw a shoe at me head."

"That's because, he was going to throw a fire cracker onto the field."

"Was not."

"Was too, I saw you."

"Prove it."

"I freaking saw you, I don't need to prove anything!"

"Language, Takemitsu. And Adachi, were you really going to throw a _fire cracker _onto the field?"

"No, why would I do that?" The boy was lying through his teeth.

"Do you honestly believe him over me? Him the bully, the idiot?"

"You have gotten into just as much trouble as he has, Takemitsu, I don't believe you either."

Adachi shot me a smug grin I had to resist the urge to punch him in the face. That would not have gone well.

The principal pinched his nose bridge and sighed heavily. "I can tolerate the fact that you two don't like each other-"

I scoffed, hated was more like it.

"In school you can get away with simple punishments, but this is a social gathering you are supposed to be ambassadors of our school and act accordingly. Starting a fight in the middle of a soccer game is not something that we can be proud of!"

I rolled my eyes, and Adachi scoffed. The school's reputation meant everything to this man.

"This is not something to be taken lightly. And maybe I would be lenient if you two weren't always in trouble, but this time it's gone too far. I expect you to stay after school on Monday in fact for the rest of the week. Report to my office the first thing on Monday."

So I think this was the first time anyone ever got a detention at a soccer game; a national feat. The principal stormed off leaving Adachi and I at the fence. Thank god he didn't notify Mikami, I would have been dead then. I turned to Adachi who was admittedly subdued. He was always like that whenever he got reprimanded. I didn't get it; if he didn't like getting in trouble why cause so much of it in the first place? His logic was beyond me. But anyway, I suddenly flashed back to the beginning of this whole problem and realised that I wanted a few answers from the oaf beside me. The number one being if he had really felt that monster or not. I grudgingly turned to him; I needed to find out if he really had any connection with me at all. I hoped to dear god that it had been a coincidence.

"I have two questions, Adachi, and hopefully you'll co-operate and answer them like a civil human being."

He scoffed glancing up at me with undisguised contempt, "I'm not answering any of your questions."

"Just drop the childishness; it's annoying. How old are you, four? God it's just a freaking question."

He hesitated and took that to my advantage. He may have hated me but the boy was curious from what I had gathered.

"Question one, why the hell would you throw a fire cracker onto a field full of soccer players?"

"I don't have to tell you anything," he folded his arms across his chest and glared at me.

I sighed, why did he have to be so aggravating? I could tell he was seething with anger. He was going to attack any second now. Moving on to the second question; now how to word it without sounding like a lunatic?

"Fine, then, second question, did you have something like a really bad feeling, just a while ago?"

He paused, I saw shock flash across his eyes for a second before he hid it and clenched his jaw. "Don't take me for a freak like you!"

"I'm not. Just answer my friggin question!" I ignored the fact that I had just insulted myself.

He scoffed, "Don't wanna. And if you know what's good for you, you better shut up and leave me the hell alone."

With that he walked away, "And do something about mouth, it's annoying as hell."

I touched my spilt lip, "Do something about your face then."

He responded with a very rude hand gesture. I glared at him as his friends joined him and left the game.

So, it was obvious now that he could sense the monsters as well, great. Whatever, it didn't even matter; I bet tonnes of people could sense the monsters as well... I just hadn't met any of them. Aside from Mikami and Teito I hadn't met anyone at all. So there was something up with Adachi; why only him, though? Despite my hatred for the boy I was going to do some investigating. I turned away from the bleachers and watched the world on the other side of the fence. Cars rolled by on the street and I watched a black plastic bag flutter around in the wind. It passed in front of a utility pole less than a foot away from the fence and I took a deep breath, people seemed to be out to get me today.

"How long do you plan on hiding there? I can see you, you know," I folded my arms across my chest.

"Oh, you could see me?"

"Well that isn't a very good hiding spot to begin with."

A tall, red-headed man walked out from behind the pole scratching the back of his neck.

"What are you doing here, Kurosaki? Why were you hiding behind a utility post? And what the hell is up with that get up?"

He looked down at his outfit. He was wearing a black kimono with a huge sword strapped across his back. I may not have been the most fashionably inclined person in the world, but something was wrong with his clothes. And a sword? The last time I checked he was a doctor and doctors did not need swords.

He chuckled a bit, "Cosplay? I was just passing by and saw your principal yelling at you. Good job by the way."

I rolled my eyes, "So you randomly decided to stop and listen. Have you ever heard of this thing called privacy? And cosplay, seriously; aren't you too old for that? I think your rating just dropped by ten points. Congratulations you're now at -10."

"So I started off with a zero?"

"No I start everyone off with a twenty; you just annoy the crap out of me."

"Watch your mouth, kid. And aren't you supposed to be resting right now. Being at a soccer game doesn't count as resting, Hyōka. Does Mikami know where you are? No, of course she doesn't. She would have never let you come here."

I narrowed my eyes, "Don't you dear tell her."

"I'm telling her. I don't joke around when it comes to my patient's health; you should be getting home now. And what happened to your lip... and why are you only wearing one shoe?"

I wiped the blood off my face with the back of my hand. Ichigo winced, "Don't touch it like that; it'll get infected."

"It's none of your business. Who the hell are you, my father?"

"Do I need to walk you home?" he asked dismissing my question.

I rolled my eyes. "No. I'm waiting on my friends."

He nodded, "Okay then," he then turned around and leaned against the fence placing his hands behind his head.

What the hell? Was he waiting on me or something?

"Don't you have somewhere to go, Kurosaki?"

"Nope. I'm staying here to make sure you get yourself home."

"How kind of you." I sneered and turned my back to him. No offence to Ariwa or anything, but the game better hurry up and finish I didn't think I could take much more of Kurosaki.

"Are you actually planning on staying there the whole time?"

"Yep."

"Why do you care so much?"

"You're my employee's little brother. I have to care."

"No you don't."

"Well I want to then."

I paused and watched him out of the corner of my eyes. He was staring passively at the clouds.

"Why?" I asked.

He shrugged, "You're special, Hyōka."

"Are you referring to my anxiety, because I've got it pretty much under control."

He snickered, "No you don't, but you remind me of someone."

"A friend of yours?"

"Something like that."

"Then go bother him instead."

"I can't. He died twelve years ago."

Blunt much? "Oh, I'm sorry to hear. Why are you telling me all of this by the way?"

"You remind me of him."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, Kurosaki, you just said that." The idiot. For a grown man he was as annoying as hell.

"Hey, Hyōka, who're you talking to?"

I turned to see Kasai and Ariwa come up to me. I guess the match was over. I pointed over my shoulder.

"Mikami's boss."

"There's no one there..."

"Wha-"

I spun but Kasai was right. Ichigo was nowhere to be seen. The only thing that moved was the black plastic bag that was sent up into the air again by a speeding car. I frowned, nobody could move that fast. Suspicion number one, there was something up with Ichigo and not in the normal way. Did I just seem to attract these wired people? Don't answer that.

"Well he was there a second ago." I shrugged it off so they wouldn't think I was losing my mind. "Who won the match by the way? I didn't get to see." I hopped the change of topic would get them off my back. Wrong choice apparently.

Ariwa had a scowl on his face that could have turned a man into stone. And Kasai shook her head and punched me in the arm.

"You Idiot, I warned you about this. Just so you know Kazu is mad at you."

I sighed and scratched the back of my neck. "Would it help if I said I was sorry?"

Ariwa narrowed his eyes and then suddenly turned away, marching towards the exit.

Kasai followed. "Just in case you didn't get it, that was a no," she called over her shoulder.

I shook my head and slowly followed them wondering how I could make it up to Ariwa. "Yeah I got it."

* * *

**More trouble for Hyoka, he's such a bad boy, smh.**

**So Adachi can sense hollows, I know everyone's thinking wth is up with that, but I have my reasons you'll find out soon enough. And now Hyoka is definitely suspicious of Ichigo, what can I say any reincarnation of Shiro-chan is going to smart.**

**Fun fact for the day: I originally meant for the name Hyoka (which many people seem to like btw, just thought I'd put that out there.) to mean 'valued', but apparently it also could mean 'ice flower' 0.o Fitting don't you think?**

**Thanks to punk lolita23 for this little bit of information ^^**

**please review, I'm dying to know your opinions, if I don't get them I might just do that... die I mean.**

**-Mymomomo**


	6. Chapter 6

**I come in peace! Look I even wrote a new chapter, so don't kill me!**

**Yes I know I haven't updated in ages, but Google the International Baccalaureate and you'll see why -_-'**

**But summer is hear at long last and that mean's quicker updates! Yay!**

**Enjoy the new chapter!**

**Edit:22/07/13**

* * *

"You boys will be cleaning the cafeteria today. I want you to mop the floor, clean the tables, and make sure that there is no trash lying around. The cleaning supplies are in here," the vice principal stood over Adachi and me with his arms folded across his chest.

This was so not the way I wanted to spend my Friday afternoon. I growled under my breath as the man left us to clean. I had already gotten in enough trouble when I had got back home and found out that the school had notified Mikami and told her that not only had I gone to the game without her knowing but that I had started a fight. Okay, let's get one thing straight, I had not started the fight. Despite that she had grounded me... again; I was not allowed to stay in the apartment by myself until she decided otherwise. That meant that I had to go to the clinic or the police station after school and wait for either Teito or Mikami to finish work. Then to top it all off I had detention with Adachi everyday for two weeks. But I did have to investigate as to why he was the only other person who could sense the monsters and I could use the detention as an excuse. This was something that was begging to be solved even if he was a jerk-face most of the time. I sighed and willed myself to be patient with the oaf beside me.

"Let's get started; the less time I have to spend with you the better," he sneered and headed over to the closet with the cleaning supplies.

I resisted the urge to kick him as I followed. He pulled out a mop and bucket that looked like it had rabies or something. I'm pretty sure that the mop fibres were supposed to be white, or grey, not that sickly shade of green-brown. I gagged, it didn't smell too nice either; it was like a mixture of vomit, disinfectant and chilli.

Adachi looked like he was going to puke himself, but turned to me instead, "I'll mop and you do the tables."

Of course he would choose to do the easier job. There were at least fifty tables in the cafeteria. "Or how about you do the tables and I mop?"

"Or how about you find a mop that's not taller than you then I'll let you do it."

I gritted my teeth just because he was the size of a woolly mammoth... I grabbed a bottle of disinfectant and an old cloth and marched off to the nearest table. Did I ever mention how much I hated him? I heard him laugh as I began to walk away. This time I couldn't resist the urge to slip him a side kick to the shin. I slipped out of his reach by the time he realised, but I felt him glaring daggers at the back of my head. After that we left each other alone for the most part. I wiped the tables down while he mopped the floor and I could not help but slip a few glances at him. Why was it that he could sense the monsters? The question was killing me; why him? There was nothing special about him. He was average looking, he wasn't smart or anything, he wasn't exceedingly good at sports; in fact he was as normal as they came. If he wasn't a bully I'm sure he would have been one of those kids that faded into the shadows at the back of the class. So why the hell was he 'special'? I chewed my bottom lip; I had to figure this out. I wouldn't be able to sleep until I found out, that is if I was able to sleep in the first place. Was there a connection between me and him? Was there-

"Gomi, all you have to do is wipe off the tables; it's not rocket science."

I realised that I had been staring at the same spot on one table for the past twenty minutes. "So you do know what rocket science is. I thought that even the concept was too much for your almost non-existent brain. And the name's Hyōka; I thought that even you would know that by now."

If I had been looking at his face I'm sure my eyes would have turned to crisps from the heat of the glare he was surely shooting my way. I heard him take a deep breath and crack his knuckles.

"Whatever. They said that we weren't allowed to leave until both of us were done so, hurry the hell up."

"Then shut up and mop the damn floor."

He growled and I heard the mop hit the floor with a very loud thump. I could have sworn I heard the wood crack. I mentally slapped myself; if I made him angry then he would be less willing to cooperate. I needed him to cooperate if I wanted to find out why he could sense monsters... but maybe I could turn his anger to my advantage. But how?

I knew that it was more than likely that if he was able to sense monsters then the rest of his family would be too like me, Mikami, and Teito. Maybe I could get him to spill something about his family. But it was not like I could just waltz up to him and ask how his parents were doing. I would have to think of another way. The school kept files on everyone, didn't they? Maybe I would look into those. I rubbed down on a particularly greasy spot on the table.

"You know if you hadn't thrown your shoe at me neither of us would be here right now?" he growled breaking the silence.

I glanced up to see him leaning on the mop stick and glaring at me. There was no way he was going to shift the blame on to me when he was about to throw a firecracker on to the field. I had merely tried to stop him.

I turned to look at him and spoke in a low, dangerous voice. "Look Adachi, you were about to hurt my friend. As you well know if you pick a fight with one of my friends you may as well come straight to me. So just tell me what was going through your moronic brain when you decided to try to hurt him!"

He was silent. I saved that tone for when I was really said I sounded like some pissed off war commander when he was too angry to shout and when a military man was too pissed off to shout then you knew that something bad was going down. Adachi's eyes widened.

"I don't have to tell you anything," he had forsaken the mopping in favour of folding his arms across his chest and staring at me.

Something snapped inside of my head,"Don't fuck with me! Either you tell me right now or-"

I cut myself off noticing that Adachi's attention had wavered. He was glancing around the room, trying to be discreet about it. But I could tell that he was looking for something and judging by his facial expression it was something scary. A monster perhaps? But no I didn't sense anything. I frowned at glared at him my temper dropping. After around three minutes he began to relax.

"Adachi?"

He glanced over at me, "I said that I don't have to tell-"

"Just now did you feel anything?"

"... W-what the hell are you talking about, Gomi?"

"Don't play dumb with me – though with you it might not be an act."

He narrowed his eyes, "What the hell would I have felt then?"

I did not know how to answer that one. "You know what I mean. Adachi, please this is important..."

He froze for a second. "I don't know what you're talking about; I didn't feel a thing."

I banged my fist on the table. "Damnit! I know you did! Stop lying. I saw you just a minute ago! And at the game last weekend you felt something there too!" I was getting frustrated and angry. I felt my pulse racing in my head and knew that I had to calm myself down soon. I took several deep breaths trying to relax. "You know what, never mind."

Adachi was staring at me the mop poised mid air somewhere between the bucket and the floor. He was scowling as usual but the frown did not quite reach his eyes he was staring at me with a mixture of confusion and contempt and his mouth was set into a thin line. I sighed and went back to wiping the tables; I obviously wasn't going to get anything from him today. The only thing I had gathered from all of that was that he could definitely sense the monsters. Something that I already knew. I chewed my bottom lip. Maybe if we were friends I could weasel the answer out of him... wait, hold up there Hyōka. Did I really just think about Adachi and myself being friends? That was one thing that was never going to happen. I would rather become a monster myself than become friends with him. I shuddered at the thought... both of them.

I tried to expel any other thoughts on the matter as I went on to wipe the next table. From the corner of my eye I saw the other boy still staring at me; I spun around.

"What?! Is there something on my face? If you don't want to answer my questions then you may as well stop staring at me," I growled.

He snapped out of it and before I could react I got a face full of wet mop. I spluttered and clawed at my face trying to get the mossy tendrils and barf worthy soap off. I rubbed my face with my sleeve; actually I was almost running in circles yelling at that point. He had put the dirty, probably toxic mop water on me and not just on me but on my face! I was going to mutate now! I could just feel my skin about to peel off in layers.

"What the hell! Do you even know where that thing has been?" I yelled still scratching at my face. Adachi was snickering and had gone back to mopping the floor.

"How's that for staring at you? Don't flatter yourself, Gomi. If I stared too long my eyes would burn out of my sockets. And as for you stupid questions; I'm not a freak like you and if you ever lump me together with the likes of you you'll get much more than a dirty mop in your face." During his little speech he came up to me and was menacingly standing over me. Okay, I had to admit that he was slightly intimidating; not in the Teito way but he was almost one and a half heads taller than me. I was never one to show that I was intimidated by someone else, however.

"Is that a threat?"

"It might be and unless you want it to come true I suggest you shut that fat, ugly mouth of yours and stop bugging me about all these ghosts and monsters because I don't know anything."

I struggled to hide my smile. He just admitted that he knew about the ghosts and monsters. I had never actually mentioned them. I had only asked if he ever felt any weird feeling, but now he had sold himself out. I loved idiocity sometimes.

"Don't stand so close to me; I'll catch your stupid," I sneered as I turned around and continued to wipe the table.

I heard Adachi growl but continue to mop the floor anyway. Did I mention how good it felt to outsmart people sometimes? I still needed to figure out the connection, though. Maybe I could tail him and try to figure it out...

I spent the next two hours thinking up ways I could find out about Adachi's family and why they were able to sense the ghosts. I had come up several plans, though, none of which were feasible. If he caught me following him he would surely attempt to kill me. I could look his address up in the school files... but if I got caught Mikami would kill me for hacking into the school's database. I decided that I would sleep on it.

Adachi and I had finished cleaning and went our separate ways. I wanted to follow him right then and there, but I had ticked him off enough for today and I needed to wear away at him slowly or I wouldn't get anything from him at all. So, I drudgingly made my way to the clinic.

"Mikami!" I yelled slamming open the door.

She was sitting behind the desk going through some paperwork. She glanced over at me.

"Not so loud; Hyōka, this is a hospital."

I shrugged and threw my bag under one of the waiting room chairs.

"So how was school today?" she asked opening a draw in the filing cabinet to her left.

I shrugged again. "Alright, I guess."

She rolled her eyes and leaned over the counter to ruffle my hair. "You can either stay in the waiting room or come back here with me."

I sighed and followed her. It seemed to be a slow day at the clinic. Kurosaki was taking an old woman's blood pressure, but other than that there was no activity going on. I pulled myself up on one of the beds and propped my chin on my palm and stared at him. Mikami brought the file over to him.

"Here you go,Kurosaki-san these are Doi-san's files," she handed him the file before going back out to the waiting room.

He took them with a nod. "Thanks, Mikami," he flipped it open and turned to the woman. "Your blood pressure is a little higher than the last time we checked. It's not that much of a problem, but I'll prescribe a medication for you just in case. Remember stay away from salty foods and you should be fine," he picked up a clip board from the bed next to him and wrote something down. He handed her a small slip of paper and put another one in her file. She thanked him and hobbled on her way.

I narrowed my eyes at the doctor's back. He suddenly spun around with that annoyingly fake grin on his face. I rolled my eyes.

"Hey there, Hyōka how was school?"

I grunted in response.

He shook his head, "No Hyōka, use your words."

I glared at him. "Shove off, Kurosaki."

"Would it kill you to be polite for once?"

"Define polite."

He stuck his tongue out at me. It was increasingly harder to believe that this man was an adult. I scowled at him.

He pulled off the rubber gloves he was wearing and reached over to ruffle my hair. I ducked and shot him an icy glare. Why was it that people always felt the need to pat me on the head or ruffle my hair? I was not a dog.

"Hyōka, what's that on your face?" he asked suddenly, his brow furrowing slightly.

Thinking it was a joke I rolled my eyes and pushed him away. "So original, Kurosaki, not to mention mature."

"No seriously, it looks like a rash or something," he leaned closer to me and took my chin in his hand, forcing me to stare into his face.

I struggled a bit but he held firm. For a doctor his hands sure were calloused. He frowned and turned my head to the side. Somehow this seemed familiar. I had no idea why but I got this sudden sense of déjà vu. A shiver went down my spine at his touch.

"Yep, definitely a rash," he sighed and stood up, "go wash off your face and I'll put something on it. It looks like you got hit in the face with an old mop or something."

"Adachi..." I growled hopping up from the bed.

"Who's he? Did he hit you with a mop?"

I glanced at him over my shoulder. He raised an eyebrow and walked over to stand in front of me. "Are you being bullied, Hyōka? Do you need to talk to someone?" he crouched down so that his face was level with mine. I gritted my teeth and glared at him.

"It's nothing I can't handle," I spat back and shoved past him to the sink.

I heard him sigh from behind me and mutter, "Always trying to do things by himself; he's exactly like Toushiro."

This was the seventh time that Kurosaki was comparing me to that Toushiro person. Who the hell was he? I would have asked him, but I didn't think he knew that I knew that he was comparing us. It would have sounded like I was eavesdropping on his conversations – not that I wasn't, but I was already on thin ice with Mikami and if she found out that I had been eavesdropping on her boss it would be into the icy water for me. It was like he was hiding some huge secret and I was determined to find out what it was.

After I washed off my face I sat back down on the bed and Ichigo held up a tube of some sort of cream. He squeezed out a pea sized drop of clear gel and proceeded to rub it into my cheek.

"That should take care of it by tonight. If it's still there tell Mikami; I think she has a tube of this at your apartment."

I raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?"

He shrugged and went to wash off his hands. "I've been to your apartment before, Mikami brought me home once."

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped in horror. Of all the decent men in this town she had chosen _him_? I did not normally care about Mikami's social life, but I would put my foot when she decided to sleep with-

"No, I didn't mean it like that!" his face turned red and he shook his head furiously at my facial expression. "That came out wrong," he cradled his forehead in his hands. "You're twelve; what do you know about bringing people home?"

"I've lived in Tokyo for my entire life. What do I not know?"

His face turned even redder. "Ugh, I... I think I hear Mikami calling you," he muttered.

Sure enough my sister entered the room calling my name. Ichigo took a few deep breaths, but I could tell he was struggling against the blush that was rising when Mikami came in. He was refusing to make eye contact with her and promptly left the room when she stood next to him. She raised an eyebrow and glared at me.

"What did you-"

"Is there something going on between you two?" I cut her off.

Her eyes widened. "What? You mean me and Kurosaki-san? God no, Hyōka, what would make you think that? He's my boss!"

I folded my arms across my chest, "You brought him home, Mikami?"

"What?! Oh... yeah. That was nothing, Hyōka. I needed to get a file from the apartment and he happened to be with me at the time. He had to use the bathroom or something; I can't remember. Anyway, you're supposed to see Hagino-san today; did you forget?"

Ah crap, I had totally forgotten about the appointment. I was already late by five minutes. I slapped my forehead and jumped off the bed again. "I'll go over now. See you later, Mikami. Bring my bag home, please."

"Do you want me to come with you; it's a long walk?"

I looked at her like she was crazy, "No."

She sighed, "Be careful, then. Teito will pick you up when you're done."

I nodded and ran out of the door. Hopefully Hagino-san would not be mad at me for being late. She was one of the few adults that I enjoyed talking to.

...

I could hardly breathe by the time I got to Hagino-san's office. My chest felt like it was seizing up and my mouth felt dryer than a desert.

"Hyōka!" Hagino-san stood up when she saw me and guided me over to a chair. She handed me a bottle of water from the mini fridge in her office. I opened it and gratefully drank.

She waited for me to catch my breath.

"What have we told you about doing things like this? Putting that amount of stress on your body could trigger an attack."

I waved her off. "I have anxiety not asthma. I'll be fine."

She looked at me sceptically. "You don't look fine. Please don't tell me you ran all the way here."

"Fine, I won't."

She sighed, "So what's up? Why were you late?"

"I forgot about the appointment."

She raised an eyebrow. "We've had Friday appointments for a good while now. How do you forget?"

I shrugged, "There's a lot been going on lately."

"Really? Like what?"

I shrugged. "School, friends... Mikami might be dating her boss."

"Oh, did she tell you this?"

"I suspect it."

"Do you have any proof?"

"Not yet."

She chuckled a bit. "Trust me, Hyōka, there is no way that Mikami would ever date her boss. From what Teito told me last week she's got her eye set on someone else."'

"Really? Who!? And why didn't Teito tell me?"

"What about you; it's been over a month at school. Are there any girls you like?"

"Nope... can we not talk about that?"

She smiled, "Sure. Anyway, Mikami tells me that you had another panic attack last night. Do you want to talk about that? You seem to be having them more frequently this week; any idea why?"

I hesitated. The only thing that had really changed was that I was sensing more monsters. But then she would throw me in the loony bin if I told her that. I could trust her with anything else but this.

"I've been doing more I guess."

"Like extra-curricular activities? Do you think we should start limiting those?"

I shook my head. The only extra-curricular activity I took part in was the music club because they heard me play the piano during music class once and demanded that I joined. "It's just the detentions that have been keeping me busy lately. But there's nothing I can do about that."

She nodded in agreement. "You could try to stay out of trouble."

"There's no fun in that."

She rolled her eyes. "Just try to take it easy from now on okay?"

...

Teito drove me home that night. He seemed more tired than usual, but he still had enough energy to tease me about the rash on my face. I had stayed a bit longer with Hagino-san. And Teito had come for me at around nine because he had to stay late to finish up some project or other. The crime rate in Karakura wasn't high or anything but according to him petty crimes were the worst to log. We had stopped off to grab some dinner before we headed home. The drive through line took ages to get through and by the time we got back on to the main road I was feeling exceedingly drowsy.

"You can go to sleep you know, Koko-chan. I'll wake you up when we get home." Teito said noticing that I kept on nodding off.

I mumbled incoherently as we stopped at a red light. Teito chuckled and patted me on my thigh. I stared blankly at the bright red light; wondering briefly if it made my hair seem pink. I felt my eyes droop and I was about to give into sleep when the light seemed to be moving towards us. I blinked and suddenly it wasn't a traffic light anymore. It was like a super huge laser beam or something and it was heading directly for the car. We were going to blow up! How the hell can a traffic light shoot out laser beams! I felt my heart begin to pound in my chest and a single word echoed in my head; cero. I laughed dryly here I was about to die and my mind was coming up with nonsense. Go figure, maybe my brain was failing me as well. My heart rate kept on rising; I was going to burst an artery for sure. My head started to throb and it was hard to breathe. I felt a warm panic wash over me as my stomach began to churn.

_Ah shit, not again._ I thought biting on my bottom lip and the intensity of my headache increased. I leaned over and clutched my forehead with clammy hands. This was my third panic attack in two days. Things were definitely not going well. I felt my brain closing down on itself and all I could see were red laser beams being shot one after the other. I could actually feel the heat from some of them as they flew past me. I heard explosions echo in my head and people were screaming and shouting. Chaos was rampant in my mind and my body responded to it. My chest constricted painfully and my lungs refused to draw in air. My stomach bubbled uncomfortably and I felt hot tears trail down my cheeks. The screams and explosions got even louder. It was like I was in the middle of an old war movie. I opened my eyes to see hundreds of people dropping like flies around me. All of them were wearing black kimonos – it might have symbolised something. There were huge, smoking craters in the ground and more were being created by the second. The air itself was scorching hot and it was alive with energy. Sweat was dripping down my back and I felt like I was going to throw up. I heard someone yell at everyone to retreat and get away from the area. I turned my head to see who was shouting and saw a woman flying through the air when another one of the laser beams landed where she had been standing a few seconds ago. Her kimono was all but brunt off, her skin hung in shreds off her body, and her hair was on fire. She landed less than a metre away from me. I could tell that she was still breathing. I stared in horror as time seemed to stop. My legs felt like jelly and I collapsed painfully onto my knees. A terrified scream ripped through my throat; I wasn't even aware that I could have made such a noise. It was cut short when my stomach convulsed and I was vomiting up everything I had eaten that day. When I stopped I noticed that hot tears were running freely down my face. I didn't even bother wipe them. I just curled into a ball and cried like I had never cried before.

"Shh, Koko-chan, It's okay. It's okay, shh. Nothing's going to hurt you."

I blinked few times discovering that I was sitting In Teito's lap. His arms were wrapped around me holding me to his chest. He was stroking my back with one hand. My eyes felt raw and puffy and tears still leaked from them. I honestly had never felt worse in my life. I said that after every panic attack but this time I was serious. A woman had died right in front of me; actually I had no idea if she was dead. I felt a painful pang in my stomach as I recalled all the pain she must have been going through. The tears started to fall faster and I clutched onto the front of Teito's shirt.

"It's okay, Koko-chan, it's okay."

I shook my head gasping for air. "No, it's not Tieto. It's not," my bottom lip trembled as I spoke and my voice was unrecognisable to my own ears.

"Yes it is; stop crying," he smoothed my hair away from my face.

"No it's not! SHE'S DEAD, TEITO!" I screamed.

Teito visibly drew back but he continued to hold me as I sobbed.

"We need to get you home, Hyōka." He lifted me up like it was nothing and placed me in the passenger seat. I immediately curled up into a ball. Teito kept a hand on my shoulder as he pulled out of the parking lot in which he had stopped and drove us home.

The drive seemed to take ages longer but that was because I kept on seeing flashes of the woman flying across the sky and landing with a thud at my feet. I cried harder each time. When we got to the apartment Teito hurriedly carried me inside. Mikami was waiting in the living room.

"What took you two so long, that was a twenty minute drive; it took you an hour – Teito what's wrong with him?" she was at our side instantly. She lifted me out of Teito's arms and carried me over to the couch.

"We stopped at a red light and he had another panic attack. I thought he fell asleep at first but then he grabbed his head and started crying."

Hearing them talk like this had me trying to pull myself together. Mikami wiped my cheeks and pulled me into her chest.

"Hyōka, what's wrong?"

I shook my head and hiccupped. "I- I- I don't want t-to talk a-about it."

She glanced at Teito, but nodded anyway. When I calmed down enough I asked her for sleeping pills. For once she was willing to give me the medicine. I was never happier to have a dreamless sleep; at least I hadn't been coughing up blood.

* * *

**Dramatic much? Heh drama's my middle name...not really.**

**okay before you people say I'm being to harsh remember that Hitsugaya was a warrior so he would have seen so really bad things in his day. Having all of those memories of battles come pouring into a twelve-year-old's mind would cause some repercussions. Heh, I seem to like beating on Hyoka. Oh well, this is far from the end my friends, he's got a lot more in store for him. But the Kid's got spunk he should live^^**

**Review?**

**-Mymomomo**


	7. Chapter 7

**Yay a new chapter! The magic of summer vacation, its wonderful isn't it?**

**Yeah I don't have much to say in this opening note so just enjoy the chapter**

**Edited: 3/8/13**

* * *

A walk, that was just what I needed a nice long walk. I stared up at Mikami with my best puppy-dog face. She rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. That was what she did when she was trying not to give in; I knew that I was beginning to crack her stone hard resolve. I heard Ariwa and Kasai snicker from behind me. I ignored them. This was precisely why I never asked for permission; it was always too much hassle. This is why I just didstuff and cared for the repercussions later.

"Please, Mikami," I begged.

She sighed, "I don't know, Hyōka. You only woke up two hours ago and I think you should stay in bed after what happened last night."

I groaned as Ariwa and Kasai sent me worried looks. I hadn't told them about last night yet. Kasai would bug me nonstop about it and Ariwa would have gone into 'mother duck mode'.

"Hold up, if something happened last night I don't think you should be leaving the house at all," Ariwa spoke up. Like I said mother duck mode.

I shot a harsh glare his way. Did he always have to be a stick in the mud? "I feel fine now. Whatever happened is all a thing of the past," I turned back to Mikami. "And would you rather I spend all my time in bed and waste away or go outside and get some exercise? If I get fat when I'm older then it's going to be all your fault."

She shook her head. "I just don't think that you should be out of bed yet-"

"It was just a panic attack it's not like I'm recovering from pneumonia or anything," I threw my hands up into the air.

"Plus, it's not like Kazu's house is that far away; It's only a fifteen minute walk," Kasai stated.

Mikami seemed to consider this for a while.

"And if anything does happen Kazu's mom works part time at a nursing home and I know first aid," she went on.

I raised my eyebrow at her. She was talking like I was going to drop down with a seizure or something.

Mikami chuckled, "Fine you can go. But if anything happens I want you to tell Kazuya's mom and call me or Teito right away, I mean it, Hyōka."

I nodded.

"And I want you back home before six."

I nodded again.

"And take a jacket it's chilly out today."

"Anything else?"

"And try not to get into trouble."

"I'm going to Kazu's house, Mikami, how can I get in trouble?"

"Knowing you, you'll somehow find away," she sighed and shook her head. I shrugged what could I say? I had inadvertently made a name for myself.

...

The three of us took a short cut through the park. Well, it would have been a short cut if we hadn't decided to stop a while. Kasai and Ariwa sat on the swings while I sat on the ground playing with a few blades of grass.

"So, what happened last night?" Ariwa asked.

I sighed and uprooted a clump of grass. "Nothing, I just had another panic attack."

"You've been having a lot of those lately," Kasai noted kicking off with her feet and swinging high into the air. I felt sick just watching her go that high. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" I mumbled turning away from the swings.

She shrugged. "I dunno, you tell me."

I glanced over at Ariwa. He was staring at me with a small frown on his face. I knew that he was trying to hide it well, but he was obviously uncomfortable when we discussed my anxiety. It really was strange for a twelve-year-old to have anxiety especially when most twelve-year-olds didn't even know what anxiety was. No matter how much I insisted I knew that Ariwa thought that it was some sort of physical illness and that I had to be handled with care. He acted like an older brother sometimes; he kept on telling me to watch out for this or not to do that and it was exasperating most of the time. I had no idea why I let him do it, though. It was not like I didn't have enough people breathing down my neck.

"What triggers the attacks?" he asked slowly. "Maybe you could avoid whatever it is then."

I thought back to the red light with a shudder. "If knew then I would certainly avoid it. But if you're afraid of me suddenly collapsing on you, don't be. It doesn't work like that." I realised that the two of them had never actually been there whenever I had an attack. Of course they would over dramatise it. He seemed slightly relieved at this. I ran a hand though my hair and lazily glanced around.

"Hey, Kazu," Kasai sang bringing her swing to a halt by scuffing her shoes on the ground.

He looked over at her. She had a cheeky smile directed my way. I had no idea why this girl liked to tease me so.

"Is Rei going to be home?"

I groaned out loud as both of my friends burst out laughing. Rei was Ariwa's annoying little sister, who might have had a crush on me.

"Please say no," I moaned.

Ariwa laughed harder, "If you hadn't lead her on in the first place then you wouldn't be having all of this trouble."

"I was being nice!"

"A bit too nice, if you ask me," Kasai giggled, "and now she won't leave you alone."

"You know she was drawing you a picture yesterday? It was you two holding hands surrounded by hearts."

Okay, when I said might I meant definitely. "Shut up," I snarled feeling heat rise to my cheeks. I turned away from the laughing pair with a huff. I wondered if a nine-year-old would understand the concept of a restraining order... probably not. But in my defence to this whole crush thing; I had said hi and asked her a few questions. She had been following us around so instead of ignoring her I asked if she wanted to play with us. She had then proceeded to turn several different shades of pink and run off giggling. I had caught her staring at me and smiling several occasions afterwards. I had even received a few emails and letters consisting of sappy love poetry stating how I was her prince charming or some other crap like that. Of course Ariwa and Chou found the entire thing hilarious.

"You two are just jealous that someone likes me," I snapped.

Ariwa raised an eyebrow, "Someone that happens to be my kid sister. If it was someone in our grade, maybe Seito Megumi, then I might be jealous. But not with Rei, _definitely_ not Rei."

"You like Megumi?" Kasai asked her smile faltering faintly.

It was Ariwa's turn to blush. "No, I just think she's hot."

"You do know she's going out with Fujiwa Kenji, right? And he's in grade nine."

"I know, I never said I liked her," Ariwa snapped.

I chuckled. Yeah, he liked her; I had to tell him to wipe the drool from his mouth whenever she entered the classroom. It was too bad that she didn't even know his name; but that may have been due to the fact that she was the definition of a dumb blond,except she wasn't blond.

"Good. She's a slut anyway," Kasai snapped folding her arms across her chest.

Ariwa's jaw dropped, "How do you know? You don't even know her!"

"Don't you see the way she throws herself at guys? If that doesn't spell desperate then I don't know what does."

I coked my head; I hadn't noticed any of that. "I think you just don't like her."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Sorry, this conversation is too mature for a little twelve-year-old."

I scowled at her. "I'm turning thirteen in three months might I remind you." It wasn't my fault that the conversation had taken a turn into sensitive territory; she didn't need to take it out on me. And it certainly wasn't my fault if she had a secret crush on Ariwa. But then again I wasn't supposed to know this; she was trying to be secretive and was doing a terrible job at it. She was lucky that Ariwa was about as perceptive as a doorpost.

"How sweet, and then I'll soon be fourteen."

"Easy, Chou, he was just giving his opinion," Ariwa came to my defence.

"Well, his opinion was wrong. I don't just don't like her. She is in fact a slut who you should not have a crush on."

I rolled my eyes talk about obvious. "I smell jealousy," I mumbled.

Kasai narrowed her eyes, "What was that?" she snarled.

"Nothing," I said averting my eyes. I pointedly stared at some bushes while Kasai glared me down.

"Why do we even hang out with him?" I heard her ask Ariwa, but my attention had wavered.

Standing not too far away from us was a boy about our age. Well, Ariwa's and Kasai's Age as they had so kindly pointed out earlier. He was staring at us with a wistful expression on his face. Maybe he wanted to join us or something. But when he saw me looking over at him he shot me a glance full of so much hate that I actually felt something shoot through my chest. Well, someone was an angry little kid. And they said I was grumpy? The kid then stuck his tongue out at me and disappeared into the bushes. What a little prick. I hope he caught hypothermia running around in shorts during autumn. He had been dressed as though it was a warm summer day. The idiot, I didn't even know him, what right did he have to send me such a dirty look?

"And he's zoning out on us..." Ariwa sighed.

I turned back to them, "Did you guys not see that? He just shot me the nastiest of nasty looks ever! I don't even know him!"

Ariwa raised an eyebrow. "Who shot you a dirty look? There's no one else here, Hyōka."

"He was right there by the bushes!"

"There was never anyone there," Kasai dismissed me with a wave of her arm. "Anyway, let's go. It's almost lunch time and I'm getting hungry."

As we stood up I couldn't help but glance back at the bushes where the boy had been. They would have had to be blind to not have seen him. I saw him peeking out from in between two branches before he disappeared again. I frowned, no one else here my foot.

"Hyōka, come on let's go. You're acting weird."

I tore my eyes away from the bushes and followed the other two. A soft rustle of leaves and a snapped twig told me that I was not the only one to do so.

On the way to Ariwa's house I kept on seeing glimpses of the boy. He was tailing us and not even trying to be discrete about it. I tried to ignore him but it was really strange to have someone blatantly following me around like this and sending me dirty looks like I was the bane of his existence. Neither Kasai nor Ariwa noticed him so I took it to mean that he was some sort of ghost. That would explain why I was the only one able to see him.

"Hyōka geez, do you have a twitch or something? You keep on looking over your shoulder. It's getting annoying," Kasai sighed.

"Oh , sorry," I muttered looking back at the ghost again.

"Okay what's wrong with you? You never apologise to me," she folded her arms across her chest.

"Nothing."

She raised an eyebrow. Fortunately we had reached Ariwa's house so she stopped the questioning. Unfortunately, the reason she stopped was because once Ariwa had opened the door and Rei was there waving shyly at me. Kasai was laughing too much to continue to bug me. I felt my eyebrow start to twitch. Ariwa held back a snicker.

"A word out of either of you and you both are dead," I growled.

"Hey, Hyōka, I didn't know that you were coming over today," she folded her arms across her chest and glared at her brother. "Kazu never tells me anything."

Ariwa rolled his eyes. "And for good reason. Leave us alone don't you have your own friends to play with?"

She stuck her tongue out at her brother. At times like this I was glad that I didn't have any younger siblings. Mikami and Teito, however, had drawn the short end of the stick.

"Well, I know, Hyōka-chan wants me around."

I resisted the urge to slap my forehead as Kasai was now laughing her head off. Ariwa looked annoyed.

"No he doesn't now get lost, Rei." He growled.

"I think he can speak for himself," she turned to me expectantly and even batted her eyelashes. "You don't want me gone, do you?"

I sighed, "Actually, Rei, we have this huge project to work on and we can't afford to be distracted. I think it's going to be pretty boring for you to watch, it's on the life of Pythagoras, the person who basically invented maths so..." I trailed off hoping that she would get bored.

"So you mean it's like a combination of maths and history?"

"... Yeah."

"Oh, well see you later then," she blew me a kiss and flounced out of our way. "Okā-san Kazu brought his friends home to do a project!"

"That wasn't nice, Hyōka, lying to a girl like that," Kasai teased.

"Shut up. I think you're enjoying this way too much," I snarled.

"Tch, you should hear her when you're not around. It's Hyōka this and Hyōka that and Hyōka's so amazing. It's ridiculous," Ariwa sighed leading us to his bedroom.

For the rest of the afternoon we just laid about talking about everything from school to the new movie that was coming out next week. Everything was going well until I rolled over on Ariwa's bed and came face to face with a picture hanging up on his wall. It was of him and another boy. They were standing in front of a pool laughing. It must have been taken a long time ago because they were both wearing floaties. I assumed it must have been him with his best friend before he moved away but it was his friend's face that got me. He was the same ghost-boy that had been following me around this afternoon. That meant...

I turned to Ariwa and pointed to the picture. "Who's that?" I had been in his room before but he must have hung up the picture recently because I had never seen it before.

"My old friend, the one I told you that moved away," he had gotten stiff all of a sudden. He was twisting the blankets in his hands and chewing his bottom lip. If his friend had just moved away he wouldn't have been acting this tense, right?

"Where did he move to?" Kasai joined in now studying the picture.

"... Kyoto."

"He's lying," all three of us turned to see Rei standing in the doorway. "Hiroshi died at the beginning of summer. His house collapsed on him and his family. And it doesn't look like you're doing any project here."

Both Kasai and I were silent. Ariwa stood up his fists clenched. "Nobody asked you!" he yelled heading over to the door. "You're always butting into my business, now just get out!"

"But-"

He slammed the door in her face then turned back to us breathing heavily. "She's so annoying," he spat.

"Kazu..." Kasai stood up."

He opened the door and slipped out. "I'll be back, have to use the bathroom."

Kasai turned to me. "Can you believe that? Imagine how he must have felt. I would feel terrible if someone told me that you or Kazu died just like that."

I sighed, "People die all the time. The world's not going to stop because of it."

She frowned. "Don't be such a butt-head."

"But it's true. Look I'll offer him my support or whatever, but don't expect me to treat him like he's made of glass. If he went out of his way to lie about his friend's death then he obviously doesn't want to talk about it," I glanced at the clock on the wall. "Anyway I better get going. It's five thirty and if I'm late Mikami will have me under house arrest. Tell Ariwa that I'll see him on Monday."

She shook her head. "Whatever, Hyōka. Just to let you know, you can't always run away when things don't go smoothly."

"What are you talking about?"

"Kazu is going through something hard and you just up and leave."

"If he wanted help then he would have said so. He tried to hide it so I'm not going to confront him about it. I'll see you on Monday."

I made it out of the house without anymore incidents. So his best friend had died and was following him around. This seemed like a haunting no matter which way I looked at it. Ariwa was lucky that he couldn't see ghosts. I wasn't unfamiliar with death Teito was a cop and Mikami was a doctor; I had heard horror stories from both of their jobs. Not to mention we hadn't lived in a great area back in Tokyo. It was expected that this small town had its fair share of tragedy. Ariwa was taking it hard, though. It must have been tough for him, but it was obvious that he was pulling through. I would have stayed with him if my curfew had allowed it. But now I knew to not bring up the topic of his previous friend.

I had made it to the end of the street when trouble decided to jump out at me. It figures, I could never have one peaceful day. Mikami was right. However for the sake of arguing I was not the one that caused it, it just happened to find me. Like right now for example. The friend-ghost, I think his name was Hiroshi or something I forgot, was standing right in front of me and glaring at me like he wished I was deader than Attila the Hun.

"So you're my replacement," he snarled.

"What?" It was only then that I got a good look at him. The chain that was attached to his chest was breaking and there was almost three quarters of a hole on his chest visible underneath. I did not know what that meant, but it couldn't have been a good thing.

His snarl grew and I instinctively took up a defensive stance. This boy looked like he was just about ready to crack.

"He promised that he would never think of anyone the same way! We had a special bond; he said so himself! No one could have ever replaced me! No one knows him like I do! We spent way too much time for him to kick me to the side like this and replace me with someone like YOU!" the boy's eyes were turning red and he was scratching at the hole on his chest.

Something definitely wasn't right here he was beginning to feel like a monster. The feeling was weak at first, but it grew by the second. Eventually it was overwhelming like the pressure itself was forcing me to the ground and clogging up my lungs. I swallowed hard and held my hands up in fists ready for him to come flying at me.

"I know, I'll get rid of you then he'll come back to me! He'll realise that he could never replace me with anybody! Then I'll have him all to myself!"

Here he comes I warned myself, but then suddenly the chain broke and I was knocked off my feet by some invisible force. The same force kept me face down on the ground for a good three minutes. When I was able to look up I felt my heart stop in my chest. Where the boy had been was now a huge monster. It was taller than any of the houses in the area and looked like a furless gorilla. It stared at me with red eyes and let loose a deafening roar. I covered my ears, wincing. This was the closest I had ever been to a monster and I didn't like it one bit. How the hell was I supposed to get myself out of this one?

Kasai's words came back to me. _I would feel terrible if someone told me that either you or Kazu died just like that. _I shook my head; I was not going to die here, I still had things I wanted to do. Maybe if I stayed still long enough it would get bored and leave me alone. I lay on the ground not daring to move a muscle. It worked for a total of three seconds. The hollow bent down low and scooped me up none too gently in its massive hand. I yelled out as much in shock as in pain. Its death grip prevented me from breathing and I was sure that it had managed to break my wrist in the process. My left arm was sandwiched in a painfully awkward position between my back and its fingers.

So much for not dying here. With that thought I lost it. I kicked and screamed as loud and hard as I could. I bit at the monster's hand and tried to wiggle free. It glanced at me before squeezing tighter. I chocked on my own yell and ended it abruptly with a cough. I wheezed and gasped trying to get air into my lungs. I felt tears well up in my eyes and the lack of oxygen was beginning to make me feel dizzy. So this was how I was going to die; as food for some over grown primate. It straightened to its full height and held me at eye level.

As I saw the distance between me and the ground increase I began to panic. I did not care if I was doing myself more harm than good by struggling my hardest in its grip. Every movement I made had my lungs screaming in agony. I was screaming my head off no longer scared that it was going to eat me, but scared that I was so high off the ground. My chest was seizing up and it was not because of the rib-breaking grip around me. My head was spinning and I kept on seeing the ground come rushing up to meet me. The houses rushed past me on the way down and I closed my eyes expecting to feel sickening pain all over my body. I was probably bawling like a baby right then; I felt tears running down my face and I was screaming myself hoarse. I knew I was probably having a panic attack too. My heart was beating so fast that I felt like it was going to explode and I had lost all feeling in my hands and feet. I felt the monster's hand tightening around me and violent tremors wracked my body. Oh god, I was really going to die. Tears were clogging up my throat; I didn't want to die not yet anyway, I was only twelve I had my whole life ahead of me! I felt the hollow lift me up higher probably bringing me towards its mouth; my eyes were closed so I couldn't tell. I screamed louder; I was going to die, I was going to die, I was going to die! I. Was. Going. To. die.

Then all of a sudden I heard the monster give out a frightening roar and the hand around me disappeared leaving me to plummet to the ground. I think I wet myself when I opened my eyes and realised that I really was falling this time. The ground was getting closer by the second and all I was able to do was scream and fail my arms and legs. I shut my eyes waiting for the impact but it never came. Instead I felt strong arms wrap around my shoulders and pull me into a tight embrace. Once the arms wrapped around me I was calmed; I felt the familiar feeling of safety and the panic fled away. It was like that time when I had to stay overnight at the Kurosaki clinic. My mind cleared due to the warm, comforting pressure and I was left gasping for air in the arms of a very irate, red-head doctor.

"Damnit, Toushi... Hyōka, can't I take my eyes off you for one minute?!"

Instead of celebrating over the fact that Kurosaki had just admitted that he had been following me and finding out that he was far from the ordinary doctor I fainted.

* * *

**Hyoka can never seem to have a peaceful day huh? But then we wouldn't have a story if he did right?**

**So like most people have been waiting for the Shinigami are in the next chapter... I think**

**Reviews are welcome^^**

**-Mymomomo**


	8. Chapter 8

**Remember when I said that the shinigami were coming in this chapter... Well I consulted my outline and it seems there has been some misinformation... heh, sorry? But now Mikami and Teito are in on the gig ^^**

**Anyway hope u still enjoy.**

**Edited: 4/08/13**

* * *

A blinding, white light drew me back to consciousness – which was odd since the white light usually drew people into death. I should have taken it as a sign. My head hurt; in fact everything hurt. I felt as though I had been tossed into a human-sized washing machine and been washed twice over. What had I done now? I tried to piece together my thoughts but everything kept on swimming in and out of my mind; I barely remembered what I did yesterday. I remembered that I went to Ariwa's house, but I couldn't remember much else. Ugh, I must have been drugged since there was no other reason for my brain to be so uncooperative. So, I had gone to Awriwa's house, but before that... before that we had... um... stopped somewhere. The park! Yes, and I had seen the ghost-boy-person-thing... I swore mentally. So, that's what had happened to me. I now remembered the ghost freaking out, then changing into a monster, and attacking.

So, the one thing I had learnt yesterday was that ghosts can turn into monsters. Well, that was certainly comforting; I would have laughed, but my chest hurt. Oh yeah, it had nearly broken me in half with that grip it had, but hold on a second. How had I escaped from that one? It was holding me and ready to eat me one second then the next I was... Kurosaki!

I bolted upright and my forehead was connected very forcefully with something very, very hard. The crack actually echoed around the room. I fell back to the pillows clutching my now throbbing head in my hands only to realise then that one of them had been magically wrapped in a cast. What the hell was that; a piece of lead? Someone else had cried out too so I assumed it was a body part or something of the sort that I hit.

"What the hell are you doing sitting up like that?!"I cracked an eye open. The exact reason I had bolted upright was doubled over the bed holding his forehead. "Auhh, you're supposed to be unconscious."

Tiny tears had formed at the corner of my eyes and I slowly sat up again. "What the hell were you doing leaning over me anyway?"

Ichigo straightened with a hand still clasped firmly over his forehead and waved a thermometer in front of my face. "Damnit, I can already feel a bruise coming on."

I raised a hand to my throbbing head and felt a growing bump as well. I winced when I touched it and heard Kurosaki sigh then brush my hand away.

"Let me see," he gently brushed my bangs away. "That's gonna be there for a couple of days; just be thankful your hair will cover it."

"What's going on?" I heard someone yell. Mikami entered the room looking like she had just dropped whatever she had been doing and sprinted to my side. Her face was pale and it looked like she hadn't slept at all last night. Had a night past already? I glanced to the window, but the blinds were drawn shut so I couldn't tell what time of day it was.

"Hyōka's awake," Ichigo informed her.

Her eyes went from him to me then to the red mark on his forehead. "What... happened?"

He just shook his head and chuckled, "I think you're brother has it in for me."

Just then I heard a few more people entre the room. I turned to see Teito, Ariwa, and Kasai run up to my bedside.

"You're awake, Koko-chan," Teito let out a relieved sigh. It looked like he hadn't slept either. "Thank god."

Kasai bounded up to my bed and enveloped me in a tight hug. It was appreciated really, it was. She gives the best hugs ever, but I would rather die than admit to liking her hugs. Right now, though, it hurt like a mother-

I couldn't hold back the yelp that tore from my lips. Kasai jumped back in surprise and released me instantly.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! What did I do?" her hands flew to her mouth and she stared at me with wide eyes.

I took a few deep breaths as the pain in my torso area subsided.

Ichigo put a hand on Kasai's shoulder. "Don't worry, it's not your fault, Chou. You probably just touched a few bruises, that's all."

Bruises? I looked down at myself. I was wearing an almost see through hospital gown so I could tell that there were more than a few bruises decorating my chest and upper stomach. Even a few areas on my face felt a bit tender.

"Hyōka, I'm so sorry," Kasai mumbled.

I glanced up at her. Both she and Ariwa looked like they had been left out in the rain and forgotten or something. They stared at me with a mixture of fear, worry, and pity.

"Stop looking like someone just killed your cat; I'm fine."

All three of the adults shook their heads. Kasai raised an eyebrow while Ariwa still looked depressed.

"You got knocked down by a car; I don't think you're fine, Hyōka," she sighed.

A car? I glanced at Mikami and Teito. Really? They told them I got hit by a car. Of all the excuses in the world they went with 'I got hit by a car'. They made it sound like I was some mentally retarded kid.

"I didn't get hit that hard, obviously," I scoffed trying to play along.

"Idiot," I turned to Ariwa. He glared at me like I was a misbehaving five-year-old. "After hearing something like that how could you just go running out into the road?!"

What? I blinked stupidly at him for a second. Hearing something like... Oh yeah; his friend. I could only imagine what he was thinking right now. From his point of view it looked like his best friend had died and his new best friend had been inches close to dying as well. I actually felt kind of guilty so I offered him a weak smile.

He shook his head. "You idiot, don't you ever think before you act? You almost died! I nearly had another Hiroshi on my-" his voice cracked, he blinked hard, and scrunched up his face probably trying not to cry. His bottom lip trembled anyway. "Idiot."

Mikami moved to hug him; she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gently rubbed his back.

"Kazu," I sighed, "I'm sorry."

He glanced at me for a second. "Yeah, I'm sorry too."

"If it counts, though; you never really lost Hiroshi."

He frowned slightly at my words. "I think you must have hit your head as well," Ichigo coughed in the background. Just then a woman, who I knew to be Ariwa's mom, pocked her head into the room.

"Am I allowed back here?" she asked stepping in.

"By all means, come in," Ichigo sighed.

She smiled. "Hyōka, how are you feeling? I was sorry to hear what had happened. I can't believe someone would have done that to you and then drive off without saying anything," she turned to Mikami. "I hope we catch the person, we can't let things like this just slide."

"Yes, I'm going to file a report tomorrow," Mikami stated sending Teito a pointed look.

She nodded then sent me a look full of pity. I began to feel like some sort of injured animal. "I hope you feel better soon, Hyōka-kun."

"Thanks, Ariwa-san," I muttered.

"Anyway, Kazu, we need to head home soon; Rei was in hysterics when I left. Plus, you need to get something to eat. I'm sure you haven't eaten since yesterday."

"Okāsan..." Ariwa mumbled embarrassed. "Fine, let's go."

"Chou, we could drop you home too if you want; your Father called a while ago."

Kasai nodded. "Yes please. I guess I'll see you later, Hyōka. And don't ever do something like that again. If you survive the next time I'll kill you myself. Thanks Kurosaki-san."

When they left I turned to Mikami and Teito. "A car hit me? Really that was the best you could come up with?"

Mikami raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean the best we could come up with? That's what happened wasn't it?"

"What-?"

Ichigo cut me off, "He's probably a little confused; we bumped heads earlier and-"

"They know about the monsters, Kurosaki."

"Oh," he scratched the back of his neck.

"Wait a minute," Teito exclaimed. "Are you saying that he didn't get hit by a car but was attacked by a monster?"

Ichigo nodded. "I wasn't sure if you two knew about them so I... yeah."

Mikami looked horrified and Teito gapped. Everyone was silent for a while.

"That's it," Makami said throwing up her arms in the air. "We're going back to Tokyo. Since we moved here things have been nothing but trouble and now you get attacked by a monster. We're not staying here anymore; I-I can't take it. You'll end up dying before long!"

I stared at her incredulously. "No, we're not moving back!"

"Whoa, hold up Mikami," Teito placed a hand on her shoulder. "We're not going anywhere; you're overreacting."

"Overreacting!? One of those monsters attacked him, Teito! How is this overreacting?! This never happened in Tokyo. And I can tell that his anxiety has been worse since we moved here and- and everything has been going wrong!"

"If you remember, Mikami, we moved to start over because you lost your job. We might have never been attacked by a monster in Tokyo, but there sure as hell were a ton of them running around. If it wasn't the monsters I'm sure you remember exactly where we lived before. You were always scared that someone else, another _human_, was going to do something to him. So, yeah Karakura isn't perfect but it beats where we came from."

Mikami folded her arms across her chest. "I know. I just wish that we could do something to stop them from coming," she turned to me. "Speaking of which how did you manage to get away?"

I, in turn, glanced over to the red-headed doctor. Ichigo glanced at me uncomfortably, ignoring Mikami's question. I shrugged, so what Teito had basically spilled our entire sob story, he was never one to be ashamed of anything. "I think I'll give you three some space-"

"No, you stay here," Mikami ordered.

Ichigo paled slightly. Like I said Mikami could be scary when she wanted to be.

"O-okay."

"I have some questions you need to answer," Mikami turned to him with a cross between bewilderment and suspicion on her face. "You can see the monsters too, Kurosaki-san?"

He scratched the back of his neck again. "Yeah, I've been able to see them since I was little."

Mikami looked as if she had just found out that fish grew on trees. Teito simply looked mildly amused.

"So you saved Koko-chan," he asked slowly.

Ichigo nodded dumbly.

"Can you tell us how by any chance?"

"You could say that I was trained to fight against these monsters – they're called hollow by the way," he was fidgeting; lacing his fingers together then unlacing them and stuffing his hands into his pockets only to take them out again and fold them across his chest for a second. He shifted from one foot to the other and his eyes flitted around the room. I narrowed my eyes at him; he was definitely hiding something more than this. Plus, what kind of excuse was that? He had been trained to fight monsters... er hollows, highly unlikely. He had to be part of something much bigger; people aren't just trained to fight supernatural beings.

Teito stroked his chin. "Interesting. Anyway, I believe that thanks are in order. How would you like to come over for dinner sometime?"

"That would be... great."

Teito smiled. "Good because I have quite a few things I want to discuss with you."

Ichigo paled a bit more.

"Anyway guys if I stay here any longer I'm going to be late for work."

I raised an eyebrow. I knew as a policeman he had weird working hours, but he had never worked on a Saturday before. At least I thought it was Saturday.

"I'm covering for someone," he explained seeing my expression. "I'll see you later, Koko-chan," he ruffled my hair as he left.

Mikami still looked slightly miffed. "So all this time, you've been able to see the mon- hollows and you never said anything."

"Well, I didn't know that you could see them as well. Things like this are supposed to be kept a secret. I would have sounded like a nut case if I had said anything."

She seemed to accept his answer. "But do you have any idea why they go after Hyōka? I mean out of the three of us he always sees the ghosts and senses most of the hollows around. We noticed that there were more hollows when he was around as well."

I rolled my eyes. She made it seem like I was some sort of bad luck charm. I snorted; once again she was thinking too much into things.

Ichigo scratched the back of his neck. "I'm not sure how to explain this, but um the reason why you are all able to see ghosts is because you have high spiritual pressure or awareness. I'm not quite sure how this works myself just that some people have higher spiritual pressure than others-"

"Kind of like IQ?" I asked. He was beginning to interest me now.

He cocked his head in my direction. "Yeah, exactly like that. Now hollows feed off of spiritual pressure and Hyōka here has the highest spiritual pressure I've felt in a while. It's needless to say that hollows would be drawn to him."

"Can we do anything about this?" Mikami breathed.

He slowly shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not, but I can offer my protection. If anything goes wrong I can help him out."

I raised an eyebrow. It's not that I didn't trust Ichigo, but this whole thing seemed suspicious. I had no idea why Mikami was buying into it. So, I was supposed to believe that he was some hollow-fighting doctor? Everything just seemed ridiculous. I shook my head.

"And why are you shaking your head?" Mikami snapped folding her arms across her chest.

"You're basically singing me up for a stalker. I'm not a child; I don't need to be baby-sat."

"You nearly got yourself killed. I'm not sending you back out there with some sort of protection."

"I don't want it," I growled. Here she was again, trying to control everything I did. It was so frustrating sometimes. I couldn't do anything without her approval and she was forever watching over my shoulder.

"Don't want it? This is not a matter of what you want, Hyōka. You have no say in this."

I rolled my eyes and sent her a dirty look.

"Don't look at me that way; this is for your own good."

"My good or your satisfaction?"

Her eyes flashed dangerously.

"Mikami, um, look you're tired and before either one of you says something that you both regret how about you go home and get some rest," Ichigo stepped in stopping the fight before it started.

Mikami sighed realising that Ichigo was right. "Yeah, I think I will, Kurosaki-san," she bent over my bed and brushed my bangs away from my face. I winced when she touched the bump I had gotten earlier. She frowned and shook her head. "Just be good, Hyōka. We'll talk later."

Be good? What was I, four? I scowled until she left.

"Your face is gonna freeze that way if you keep that up," Ichigo sighed.

I turned to him still scowling. "If you follow me around one more time Kurosaki..." I let the threat hang. I did not want this idiot tailing me anymore than he already had.

"I don't know if you haven't realised this, but it's a dangerous world out there. The hollows are targeting you."

I let out a frustrated breath. "I can take care of myself. How do you think I've stayed alive for so long?"

He frowned. "That I don't know. You're definitely special, Hyōka."

I rolled my eyes. "Tell me something I don't know. Anyway how long do I have to stay here?"

"Always so eager to leave. I'm beginning to think that you don't like me."

"What ever gave you the impression that I liked you in the first place?"

"Ouch, that one went straight through the heart," he clutched his hand to his chest and tumbled onto my bed.

I couldn't help but chuckle a little. The man was amusing that was for sure. He looked up at me with a small smile on his face.

"I think that's the first time I've ever heard you laugh," he sighed. "That's not healthy; you need to laugh more. Anyway I think it's time I changed your bandages."

"How long I have I been here for?" If my bandages needed changing already then I must have been unconscious for quite some time.

"A little over a day; it's Sunday night," he stood up and grabbed a roll of gauze and medical tape from a small table by my bed. "That hollow really did a number on you."

He helped me to pull off the hospital robe which turned out to be quite difficult as my left wrist was in a cast and it hurt to move my upper body in anyway. I winced when I saw the deep purple bruises decorating my body. I really did look like I had been hit by a car. They were especially concentrated on my upper arms and ribs. No wonder it had hurt when Kasai had hugged me. There was a layer of gauze wrapped around my right bicep, shoulder and hip. Numerous grazes and scrapes adorned my body. I didn't even remember getting any of those. Ichigo peeled off the gauze revealing some rather severe scratches.

"Even though it's only been a day they're healing nicely," he noted, picking up a bottle of antiseptic.

I wasn't really paying attention to him anymore. As I looked at the bruises on my body I thought back to the ghost – Hiroshi. I actually felt bad for the kid. He had died at a young age, turned into a ghost then a hollow, and had been killed by a pseudo-doctor. He hadn't deserved all of that I mean even as a ghost all he wanted was to spend time with Ariwa; I could see where I had encroached on his territory. I thought it was brutal almost since he had been striving to... protect someone he had loved and he had been killed because of it. I had always thought hollows to be ruthless and mindless killers, but after seeing Hiroshi change into one I was not so sure anymore. What if all of them had been people before and were trying to protect something they had loved. Was it really fair to kill them just like that then? Maybe they weren't mindless monsters after all. I sighed.

"What's the matter?" Ichigo picked up on the sigh almost instantly.

I glanced at him. He was re-bandaging my arm. "I was thinking. You killed the hollow right?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Yeah."

"Oh."

"Did you not want me to?"

"No, it's just that the ghost that turned into the hollow was just a harmless little boy who just wanted to protect his friend and-"

"And you don't think it was fair that he died like that," Ichigo sighed and looked up at me again. "Exactly like him," he muttered. "Okay, how do I explain this? Hollows are corrupted souls made from ghosts who are unable to pass on or have something holding them back to earth; it's usually regret or not wanting to leave someone or something behind. When they spend too much time on Earth the chain that's attached to the front of their chests – the chain of fate – shrinks. When the chain disappears they become hollows."

I nodded. It made sense.

"And Hollows are really little more than monsters. They devour souls and loose whatever motivation they had before."

"So you're saying that when Hiroshi turned into a hollow he forgot all about Ariwa?"

"Yeah. Anyway, the only way we can actually save the hollow is by cutting through its mask and send it onto the afterlife. That way... Hiroshi can start over."

Afterlife? I paused. I had never really thought about what happened after death. I would ask him about it later.

"Now, anymore questions?"

I shook my head. I needed to sit on these things for a while. However, "How long do I have to stay here?"

Ichigo sighed again. "As long as needed."

"How long is that?"

"I don't know; three or four days maybe a week."

I groaned. There was no way I would be able to survive a week in the clinic; I would die.

"Oh please, it's not going to kill you to sit still for once. Oh yeah, which reminds me," he reached to the floor at the foot of my bed and picked up a green knapsack. "Mikami left this for you."

I wearily unzipped the bag. Mikami was going to make an incredible mother someday. Hopefully soon so her concentration would shift from me to another unfortunate soul. I unpacked a few books, my ipod, my journal, and of course Hyourinmaru (he had been right at the top). I grinned as I brought the dragon to my chest. Mikami knew that I was going to be bored out of my mind here.

"What is your obsession with that dragon?" Ichigo sighed, eyeing the dragon with a mystified expression.

I shrugged and looked into Hyourinmaru's red button eyes. "Don't make fun of him, Kurosaki."

The ginger man just shook his head. I scowled; since Hyourinmaru couldn't stand up for himself I had to stand up for him.

"I wasn't; trust me. Hyourinmaru is the last thing I would ever make fun of."

Was that sarcasm? I sighed; I was going to die sometime this week wasn't I?

* * *

**Sorry about that guys, I really thought that I was going to introduce Hyoka to the shinigami in this chapter. I have a suckish memory I know. Sorry again.**

**Anyway tell me what you think!**

**-Mymomomo**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi again everyone!**

**Hyoka wishes to thank everyone who read this story even though he finds it weird that we're creeping on his life.**

**Anyway, enjoy the next chapter.**

**Edited: 4/08/13**

* * *

So, I ended up living with Ichigo for a grand total of a week and three days. It was the worst week of my life. That meaning I think that he was beginning to grow on me. I was actually laughing at his dumb jokes and every time he opened his mouth I had déjà vu. He was even popping up in my dreams sometimes even though none of them made sense.

When I pieced together my dreams it felt like I was seeing snippets of another person's life. I had read my dream journal over and over again – yes I was that bored – and it seemed like my brain was subconsciously trying to narrate someone else's life. I saw faces, places, heard voices, and so on, but none of it made sense. The flashes were too brief and too jumbled up for me to make anything out of it. Maybe I was destined to be a writer or something when I grew up; I was creating people in my dreams.

On the bright side, I had no panic attacks for the entire time I was there and neither did I have that nightmare with the creepy, brown-haired dude. However, when my subconscious mind was tired of creating characters for my upcoming bestselling novel it was submerged in snow. I kept on dreaming of the blizzard except each time it was more violent than the last, almost as if the snow itself had a sense of urgency. After those dreams I woke up with my heart racing a mile per second and I felt the beginnings of a panic attack, but it never developed into the full thing. Which in itself was odd because the day I went home and had the same dream I woke up in cold sweat and curled up in my sheets – with Hyourinmaru of course – until the panic subsided. Coincidence? I think not. Ichigo was doing something to me, okay that sounded wrong. He was hiding something and I was going to find out what.

Apart from that the week and three days had been really long; I think the longest I have ever been through. Ariwa and Kasai came to visit every day and so did Hagino-san – well not every day but she did come once or twice. I had gotten several get well soon cards from people who I had never talked to in my life such as Teito's co-workers and the people who lived in the apartment next to us. Heck, I had even gotten one from the landlord; I guess being hit by a car was pretty big news. Ichigo called it my fan mail and it just amused him even more when Ariwa showed up with letters from Rei every day; I didn't even bother to read those.

Ariwa and Kasai kept me entertained by telling me what was going on at school. Even though it was nothing much; Adachi never acted out when I wasn't there. Ariwa always made sure I stayed on top with the homework, unfortunately. Near the end of the week, when my bruised hip healed enough to permit me to walk, Ichigo let me come into the house part of the clinic rather than sitting all day in a hospital bed. I met his two sisters properly; I had heard of them before but never actually met them in person. Karin coached soccer at an elementary school and Yuzu owned a catering company; I liked both of them instantly. Neither of them still lived there but visited a few nights a week. Karin was the most laid back adult I had ever met and there was nothing not to like about Yuzu; she kept on giving me food. Who the hell would hate someone that gave you food and pretty good food at that? I think she would give Teito some competition. I also met Ichigo's father and praised whatever god was up there that he was retired; the man was worse than his son. If he was the doctor taking care of me I think I would have committed suicide a long time ago – try as soon as I met him. I thought Ichigo was bad, but I could see where he had gotten it from though.

I think I had annoyed Ichigo enough with all my questions by the end of the week. Every time he saw my mouth open he took a deep calming breath. I asked him everything I could about hollows and the quote on quote 'spiritual world' and had gotten next to no answers. He was a master of evasion, but I was not deterred easily.

After the one week and three days I was allowed to go home, but I needed another week of bed rest. Well, house rest, 'cause face it there was no way I was staying in bed for a week even if my hip hurt when I walked around too much. On the bright side, however, I would have the entire apartment to myself for the majority of the day, that is, if Mikami didn't take time off from work to 'take care of me'.

...

"Hyōka, you're not wearing _that_ tonight!" Mikami exclaimed looking at my t-shirt. "The Kurosaki's and Teito's new girlfriend are coming for diner."

I glanced down at the grey shirt I had on then at Mikami's navy blue cocktail dress. Okay, I admit the shirt was a little ratty. "But I can't put anything else on with the cast; it gets in the way."

She sighed, "Go find a better shirt and I'll help you put it on then. I don't know why you can't ask for help in the first place."

I had no idea how making dinner for Ichigo had turned into a dinner party. I went back to my room and chose a pinstriped button down shirt. Hopefully it would pass Mikami's test. It did and she helped me put it on grumbling that the cuff couldn't button around my cast. I don't see what she was complaining about. She wasn't the one who couldn't use her left arm for three weeks.

"I don't see why I have to dress up for your friends; you never do anything special when Ariwa or Kasai comes over." I complained. I really hated house parties or any type of party for that matter.

"When you get a girlfriend, Koko-chan, then we'll do something special," Teito joked as he passed by my bedroom rubbing his wet hair with a towel.

"Well sorry if I don't move as quickly as you," I spat.

"Who's quick? We've been here for nearly five months," he threw the towel at my head. I caught it with my good hand but hissed as I moved in a way I shouldn't have with so many healing bruises.

Mikami shot Teito a dirty look he just shrugged innocently. She turned back to me and ran a hand through my hair. "Do you think you'll be okay tonight? Do you need any pain killers?"

"No, I'll be fine as long as I don't have to catch anything."

"Okay, then," she looked like she didn't believe a word I said about being alright.

"Hey, Mikami did you heat up the appetizers?"

"Yep they're in the oven."

I blinked; Teito had actually trusted Mikami with his food? Plus, had he really made appetizers for a dinner of eight people? I shot him and incredulous look. This girlfriend of his must be pretty hot for him to go through all of this trouble. Heavens knows he wasn't doing all of this just to say thanks to Ichigo. He said that they had been dating for around five weeks now and she was dying to see his family. I sighed as I pulled myself onto a stool in the kitchen and watched Teito move about. Even with all his culinary enthusiasm I could tell that he was exhausted and I wondered if that was my fault. Both he and Mikami seemed more tired than usual lately. Yeah, who am I kidding, it was my fault. They both needed to get out more and do something with their lives, especially Mikami; she was twenty-seven for god's sake and I had never seen her leave the apartment for anything other than work no matter how much I tried to push her out. Her excuse was that she didn't want to leave me alone. Despite what people may have thought I'm not selfish. I hated when Mikami and Teito had to give up stuff just to take care of me. That was why I was so reluctant to ask them for help with anything; it felt like I was holding them back from their lives.

"Koko-chan, can you set the table?" Teito asked while he stirred a pot of... something on the stove.

I nodded and hopped – more like wobbled – over to the dining table. While I was carrying the heavy glass plates Mikami appeared out of nowhere and plucked them from my arms.

"Before you hurt yourself, go sit down," she pointed to the couch. I scowled at her; just because I was wobbling did not mean I was in danger of dropping her precious china. I had not totally lost my sense of coordination.

Around five minutes later the Kurosaki's arrived. Ichigo, Karin, Yuzu and Isshin sat on the couch talking to Mikami while Teito eagerly awaited his girlfriend. He was a bit too eager if you ask me he seemed almost desperate. While Isshin and Mikami were in a heated debate on some medical topic that I couldn't care less about there was a knock on the door. Teito practically leapt across the room. A few moments later he came back with a smiling woman on his arm. I had to do a double take; not only was she one of the prettiest women I had ever seen, but I got the feeling that I had met her before. It wasn't as bad as how I felt around Ichigo but I felt as if I had met her before or she was very similar to someone I had met before.

She had wavy dark brown hair and really big boobs, but there was something about her eyes. They were this shade of grey-blue that was so familiar it was scary. I wracked my brain thinking of anyone I knew with those colour eyes it wasn't a common colour either. As far as I knew I had met no one with those colour eyes, but then why were they so familiar? It didn't help either that I kept on thinking of strawberry blond hair and the colour pink. Okay, so the person I knew that had grey-blue eyes, blonde hair and liked the colour pink. I almost growled in frustration; no one I knew fit that description. Just then I felt someone poke me lightly. I glanced around to see Teito's girlfriend standing in front of me smiling. I hastily stood up and bowed politely.

"You're Hyōka, right?" She asked.

I nodded. "It's nice to meet you... um..."

She smiled."You can just call me Kamiko. Teito was right; you're the most adorable little boy ever. Here, I brought you something."

I blinked, she had brought me something? And what was with that tone? She was talking to me like I was six or something. While she was digging through her bag I shot Teito a scowl. Not because of her, she seemed nice enough, but one; he had been talking to her about me and two; he had called me adorable. He just smiled back and ruffled my hair.

My attention was pulled back to Kamiko when she stuffed a chocolate bar and a small bear into my arms. I raised an eyebrow. I understood the candy bar even if I hated sweet things, but a teddy bear? I turned to Teito again. He hadn't told her how old I was, obviously. This is why I hated my height sometimes... all the time. People always thought I was so much younger than I actually was. Still, I couldn't refuse the gift especially as she was staring at me expectantly.

"Um, thank you," I mumbled.

Kamiko looked like she wanted to grab me in a hug. I wearily took a step backwards.

"You're so cute," she giggled and patted my head. This was getting old really fast. Okay, I admit that I looked young, but could I really be mistaken for a five year old? I hoped to dear god that that was an exaggeration. She turned away and began to talk with Mikami, Karin and Yuzu. Teito picked up a conversation with Isshin.

I caught Ichigo snickering behind me. "Now Hyourinmaru can have a little friend," he whispered.

I glared at him. "Shut up. I told you not to make fun of him."

"So I take it that was the first time you met Kamiko as well?" he asked plopping back down on the couch.

"Do I really look that young?" I asked turning to face him.

"Um, kinda, I thought you were at least seven. You are small for your age; it wasn't her fault."

"Yes, but young enough to give me a teddy bear?"

"I wouldn't say that young, but I would never have guessed you were twelve."

I sat down next to him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Anyway, what was the whole staring into space about? If I didn't know any better I would have thought that you were staring at her boobs."

I punched him in the arm and he laughed. "I'm not a pervert like you. I don't know why I spaced out; she seemed familiar, but as far as I know I've never seen her in my life. It's like she reminds me of someone, but that someone is also a person I have never met. If that makes any sense."

"It kinda does. Can you describe this person? Maybe you have met her before."

"I doubt it. And if I have then I don't remember. She has the same colour eyes and long, blonde hair I think and she may have liked pink... and she has big boobs as well."

Ichigo started to laugh.

"What?"

"The woman sounds real enough. Maybe you have met her before."

"But I think I would remember someone like that."

He just shrugged.

"It's weird," I mumbled.

_The snow was blinding; I had to shade my eyes with my arm from it. The flakes fell in torrents almost like a curtain of white falling from the black sky. The wind was so strong that it caused the snowflakes to sting my face. Its deafening roar was all that I could hear. The snow piled up around my calves soaking through my pants and I pulled my jacket more tightly around me and watched as my breath came out in thick white puffs, but I wasn't cold. Sure I felt a small sting every time a snowflake came into contact with my bear skin, but other than that I felt nothing else. I had been wondering about this plain of ice for a very long time now. I had gotten used to the rolling hills in the distance and the frozen tree a few miles off. Everything about this landscape was familiar to me by now. I even felt like I had a connection with the falling snow. Yet, I had never been out in a blizzard this strong before. I should have been freezing; I should have been worrying for my life. Instead I felt this calm come upon me and I had never been more at peace in my life. I threw myself down in the snow and watched as the flakes covered me almost instantly. My dark pants turned white; white to match my hair and I closed my eyes for a second to just enjoy this feeling._

_Then all of a sudden there was something like a vibration that ran through the snow right into my chest. It was like a loud bang except without the noise and with the bang came a feeling of urgency, longing like if I was trying to get an important message across but no one was understanding me. I sat up and looked wildly around. The feeling kept on getting stronger. My head started to pound and it got really cold rather quickly. The sky became even darker and the wind more wild. Snow was being blown up from the ground in violent sprays. There was even thunder and lightning in the distance. I clutched my jacket tightly around me and my teeth began to chatter. It was only then that I became aware of how underdressed I was for this situation. I felt my heart thud in my chest as the unexplained feeling of frustration overtook my mind. Why wouldn't he understand?!_

_I paused not quite sure where that came from, but after that all of my thoughts were put on hold when I heard a roar. It was very faint and barely distinguishable from the howling wind. My ears pricked up and I scanned the area again. The snow was blowing in every direction possible and it was hopeless to even see a foot in front of my face. But I had heard something and something was out there. I scrambled to my feet, spinning around in slow circles. It roared again this time louder and I felt aggravation accompany the sound. Whatever it was it was angry. The cries became louder and louder until they drowned out the wind. I clutched at my ears and shrunk into a ball; my legs were drawn tight into my chest and I placed my head between my knees. Then the roaring stopped. I waited a minute or so for my breathing to calm down then slowly looked up. There was a sudden flash of red, my heart jumped to my throat, and I screamed. _

...

I woke up thrashing around in my bed with the sheets strangling me. My breath caught in my throat and I was breathing like I had been running for my life. I fought down the rising panic and wiped away a few beads of sweat that had gathered on my forehead. It was just a dream I repeated to myself as I willed my breathing to go back to normal. I took deep even breaths through my mouth and untangled the sheets from my limbs. As I did so, however, I noticed that my breaths were coming out in white puffs and goose bumps covered my arms and legs. What the hell? It was the beginning of fall there was no reason for it to be this cold. I glanced around the room to see a layer of frost covering almost every surface. And a frigid, light breeze blew through my curtains and tousled my sheets.

That was when all my efforts of calming myself flew out the window. I slipped my legs over the side of the bed, shivering as they touched the cold floor. I realised that I had been shivering for some time now. I reached behind me and picked up the lump of blue fabric that I knew to be Hyourinmaru. I clutched the dragon to my chest and slowly stood up. I stumbled over to the window pulling apart the curtains only to find that the window was firmly shut. The glass was frosted over and everything. So then where was the cold air coming from? What was going on? I turned my back to the wall and slid down to the floor. Panic rose in my chest and I scrunched my eyes shut. This was all just too weird. I bit my bottom lip and hugged the dragon as tightly as I possibly could. My heart pounded in my chest with rib-breaking force and my throat grew suddenly dry. I buried my face in Hyourinmaru's fur as I tried to ready myself for the oncoming panic attack.

There was another flash of red, but this time I was able to make out a serpentine eye. I think I fainted after that because the next thing I knew I was waking up in my bed. The room was a comfortable temperature and a cool breeze blew in from my open window. I sat there just staring; had everything been a dream? The frost all over my room and the freezing air had it all just been in my head? It had all seemed so real, though. I slowly got out of bed and examined my room. The mat beside my bed felt slightly damp. I frowned and brushed my hands over various surfaces in my room. The curtains were damp as well and a puff of glacial air escaped from the closet when I opened it. Okay, things were starting to get weird. This hadn't been the first time when one of my dreams had manifested into reality, but never before had I woken up to an indoor snowstorm – minus the snow. Plus, how had I gotten back into my bed after I had gotten out to investigate? I knew that I had gotten out of bed because Hyourinmaru was lying under the window. The dragon was also wet, cold, and his tail drooped more than usual. I picked him up and cradled him against my stomach with my good arm. What was going on? How could it have possibly gotten so cold last night? I had been dreaming of the plain of ice but there was no way that I could control the weather, right?

A knock on my door disrupted my thoughts. Teito pocked his head into the room.

"Hey, Koko-chan..." he paused and looked around. "I will never understand how you can stand the cold like this; it's freezing here. What did you do sleep with the window open and the AC on full blast? You're going to get sick if you keep on doing this."

I turned to face him probably with the most confused expression I could have managed on my face, but before I could say anything he cut me off.

"But as a matter of fact you do already look sick," he sighed. "Come here."

I hobbled over to him and he put a hand on my shoulder and led me out the door. "Your body temperature's way too low right now. Mikami, come here a second!"

She was in the kitchen eating a bowl of cereal. "What?"

"What else would it be? Koko-chan, of course." I rolled my eyes.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked putting down her cereal and coming over to us.

"His room was freezing this morning and I think he's got hypothermia."

"I do not," I snapped

"Why was his room so cold?"

"I don't know; I left the window open I guess."

She frowned. "You need to be more responsible for your health, Hyōka. Anyway, go take a warm shower; you're coming to work with me today. I've been sensing hollows all around the apartment last night and I would have to be crazy before I let you stay here by yourself."

* * *

**So he's beginning to remember stuff, especially Rangiku, I mean who could ever forget her. And now Hyourinmaru... the actual zanpakuto not the stuffed animal is becoming restless. Ichigo is going to have a hand full sooner or later ^^**

**Anyway, thanks for reading and feel free to leave any comments.**

**-Mymomomo**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi again everyone!**

**Yeah It been quite some time since my last update... sorry bout that**

**Anyway, I have a bit of character development in here so bear with it. It should still be enjoyable though... I hope**

******Enjoy^^**

**Edited:4/08/13**

* * *

"Hey look who's back!" some kind announced as I entered the class room for the first time in two weeks.

I glanced around oh, how I had _not_ missed it. Everyone in the room had turned to look at me; quite a few of them looked astonished, but I knew that majority of the class couldn't care less. Let's just say I had not gone out of my way to make friends with anyone. Still, more than a few of them came up to me and asked how I was feeling and to sign my cast. Ariwa was sitting on top of my desk grinning as I awkwardly held my arm up for people to write on it. I didn't really care the cast was coming off in a week anyway; so they could muck it up all they wanted. Kasai had doodled on it anyway so there was barely any space left for them to do anything. I sighed remembering the day when she had spent over two hours drawing on my cast and hitting me over my head every time I tried to look. The end result was a very short comic strip of a boy getting run over by a bright red cartoon car. Printed underneath it was the sentence 'don't you ever do this again'. Ariwa had cracked up when he saw it and this had been one of the very few times when I had seriously wanted to punch Kasai. Because the story of me getting hit by a car wasn't embarrassing enough she had to draw it out for me on my arm.

Just then Hamada-sensei came in and called me over to her desk. "It's good to see you back at school Takemitsu-kun," she smiled as she sat down and beckoned me to stand next to the desk. "I trust you're feeling all better," I nodded. "That's good. But the matter at hand is that you've missed out on two weeks' worth of school work. You're going to have to work extremely hard if you want to catch up with the others. After-school classes may be in order," I groaned. "It's not that bad only an hour or two a day."

"But Ariwa gave me the homework every day I was gone."

"That's nice of him but I'm afraid it's not enough. We've had many tests and assignments that you've missed out on and if you don't complete them you're grades will be at risk."

I let out a puff of air. "Can't I do the tests over or something. You could give me the material to study at home and I could take them during my free periods."

"Or we could just teach you the material in extra classes. Trust me, Takemitsu-kun, the term is ending soon and you don't want any extra homework right now. Exams are coming up," she scribbled a note and handed it to me. "Here, give this to your parents tonight."

I took the note from her ignoring that she had told me to give it to my parents. It must have been a mistake, a reflex. Teacher's usually told their students to give notes to their parents. I slumped down in my seat when I crossed the classroom. Ariwa leaned over to me

"What was that about?" he asked.

"She wants me to stay back for extra lessons to cover the things that I missed," I groaned stuffing the note into my pocket.

"That sucks."

"Tell me about it."

"But you're smart, I mean you're at the top of the class it shouldn't be too bad right?"

I snorted. Our midterm report had given me the title number one in the class, but that was beside the point. The point was that they were trying to make me stay longer than necessary in this hellhole. I had made it clear on countless occasions that I did not like staying in school after it was let out for the day. Yeah, I skipped detentions. What could they do? Other than give me more detentions which I would skip anyway.

The remainder of the school was relatively uneventful except during recess when Kasai told me that I still looked sick. She was the more perceptive of the two of my friends and could tell whenever I hadn't been sleeping or if something was bothering me and well frankly there was quite a bit bothering me at the moment. Such as the dream about the blizzard, Ichigo being able to fight hollows, and everything that was going on in my life at the moment. I had shrugged her off and that had thrown us off into an argument how I didn't care about them anymore. But back to the important stuff; school was pretty much uneventful, as usual, until the last period came about. Anyone who guessed that it had something to do with Adachi gets a cookie.

We had started a new topic in history class; the emperors of feudal Japan. The lesson in itself wasn't that boring, but I still felt myself dropping off to sleep. Ariwa kept on nudging me in my side to keep me awake, though.

Around fifteen minutes before the end of the day the teacher announced something that was about to change my life. She didn't know how much it would have affected me, though. Go figure, inadvertent actions lead to serious repercussions; I had learned that one first hand.

"I'm sure that all of you will be happy to hear that there isn't going to be test on this topic."

The entire class cheered, but I knew there was going to be a catch. There was always a catch.

"But, don't get too excited," I told you so, "Instead of a test you all are going to have to do a project on a historical figure. It should include background such as family, history, and early life; the reasons why the person is such an important figure in history; and their rise and or fall to and from power. I also want pictures if available; the person with the most creative project will get extra credit," there was a long loud groan from almost everyone in the class.

"But Hamada-sensei, that's going to take forever; it's so much work!" someone in the front row exclaimed. I had to agree that was a pretty big project. Maybe that was why she had told me I wouldn't have time for extra work.

She grinned. "I know. That's why you all will be working in pairs."

Ariwa shot me a glance. I nodded; we were always partners for stuff like this.

"I took the liberty of assigning each of you a partner."

I stared at her, horrified. I didn't like anyone else in the class. Okay, that was harsh. It was better to say everyone else was mildly annoying. They would sponge off of me or at least try to. Assigned partners really? This could not go well. Many others seemed to agree with me; I could tell from the annoyed noises.

"You guys can't tell me that you've been in the same class for three months but can't work with each other? Anyway, I'll be calling out the pairs now; you can have the rest of the period to start working."

This was perfect I growled inwardly. The only person I could stand working with was Ariwa, because he pulled his own weight. He didn't try to take advantage of my smarts, though he did use me as a resource sometimes. Back in Tokyo my group partners always tried to make me do all the work and I'm sure they would do the same here. Many times people who I had never talked to before asked me if I could help them with a difficult maths problem or a science assignment. Actually, I could have made a bit of money if I started a tutoring service. But back to my dilemma, from what I had learnt, students were lazy and when they could shove off all their work onto someone else they would. Plus I wasn't about to let my grades drop because of some lazy kids, so more than likely I would end up doing the entire project by myself.

I thought I had made it clear that I didn't like working with others. Hamada-sensei had even written on my midterm report that I had difficulty communicating with the other students. She should have known that I wouldn't like this arrangement. I ranted on in my head until I heard her call my name. The entire class had gone silent. I would have used the old saying; you could have heard a pin drop because in this dead silence you could have heard anything.

"Takemitsu Hyōka and Adachi Kouta you two will be doing emperor Keitai."

What. The. Hell. The entire room held its breath waiting for one of us, or both of us, to explode.

I raised my head and glared directly at the teacher. "You must be out of your mind," I snapped. "There's no way I'm working with him."

Ariwa quickly elbowed me in my side. Being rude to a teacher warranted to trip to the principal's office. Why was it so easy to get into trouble?

"That is the partner arrangement, Takemitsu. You have no choice unless you want to fail the project."

"You think I want to work with him as well?" Adachi shouted.

Hamada-sensei took a deep breath. "Both of you go to the principal's office. Takemitsu for being rude, Adachi for shouting. You can explain to him why you don't like this arrangement. Go, now."

I rolled my eyes and shoved my chair roughly back from my chair. Adachi did the same and we both shot Hamada-sensei dirty looks before leaving the classroom. This was ridiculous; she knew that the two of us hated each other's guts so why would she force us to work together for this project? Maybe she thought that it would help us with our problems, but this was Adachi we were talking about. You could bring a dog to school and it would get higher marks than him; he was that stupid. I lead the way to the principal's office not that I was in a rush to get there, but I didn't want to walk next to the big oaf. Eventually we reached the office and we both barged in.

He looked up from his computer and glared at us.

"Takemitsu, you just came back today how is it that you're already in trouble?"

I shrugged. "Maybe it's because of the buffoons you chose to employ," I was not in a good mood and when I was not in a good mood I snapped.

The principal pursed his lips. "Why are the two of you here?"

"I was rude and he shouted," I jerked my finger at Adachi who had clammed up behind me.

He rubbed his temples. "Both of you are here too much. It was a minor offense this time, but you will stay after school. Get back to class."

...

I guess there was something to be said when both Adachi and I skipped out on detention that afternoon. Like hell I was going to do some menial chore that could be considered child labour, but wasn't because we were supposed to be learning a lesson. The principal could kiss my butt. Anyway, enough about adults and their skewed perception of justice. I sat on the curb waiting for a certain oversized bully to walk by. I had some investigating to do. I might hate his guts but I would gladly follow him around if it meant that I would get answers. I sighed, the things I would do to abate my curiosity. I pretended to be tying my shoelace when I saw him walk past me. Now was the time to be stealthy. I waited a few more moments until I got up and casually walked in the same direction as him.

I think I should be a spy when I get older because I was seriously doing a good job tailing Adachi. James Bond would be asking me for tips. We headed down so many streets that I thought I would have a problem getting back home, but my troubles were rescaled when I realised exactly we were heading. This wasn't exactly the best part of town. There were broken bottles laying all over the street and sidewalk. Where the hell was this boy going? The buildings were shabby and a few were covered in bad graffiti . In the back of my mind I was praying that Adachi didn't live here and that this was just a short cut to get to his house. This place gave me a sinking feeling in my stomach. I felt like someone was going to jump out of the shadows and stab me with a knife or something; TV did nothing to help the stereotypes. Adachi turned a corner and I counted to ten before dashing after him. I rounded the corner only to see him standing sideways knocking on a door.

I ducked behind the building on the corner; he had nearly seen me. My hear t was pounding. That was close if he had turned his head a few seconds earlier I would have been dead meat. Go figure, I set one foot into the bad part of town and I come up with a hundred ways I could die. I snorted and was about to peak out from behind the building to see if Adachi had moved on when a heavy hand was placed on my shoulder.

I jumped and screamed. My heart leapt to my throat and I saw my life flash before my eyes.

"Hyōka, relax!"

I turned to see none other than my worst nightmare; Ichigo. He was glaring at me like I had done something wrong and was in big trouble because of it. Well technically I hadn't done anything wrong yet. It wasn't like I was forbidden to come to this part of town. Then again, I don't think Mikmai thought I was stupid enough to do so. I winced; I always had to prove her wrong didn't I?

"What are you doing here?" he demanded his voice low. "Do you even know where here is? You could get hurt. Come with me now, we're going home."

I planted my feet and shook my head I had come here to do something. I wasn't leaving until I got it done.

"I'm not joking, Hyōka; we're leaving now. This place is dangerous," he grabbed my arm.

"I'm not going anywhere, Kurosaki. If something is going to happen to me here, it would have happened already," I snapped.

Ichigo's scowl deepened and he clenched his jaw. "Stop being such a brat. We're leaving."

"You're not in charge-"

"I'm the adult and what I say goes," he gripped my arm tighter. I narrowed my eyes.

"I should have known it was you," I spun wrenching my arm from Ichigo's grip and turned to see Adachi walk up to us. "What the hell are you doing here? Don't you have better things to do than follow me around?"

I scowled. Great now I needed an excuse. "We're partners, dumbass. The project is due in three weeks so we need to talk about it."

He folded his arms across his chest. "Like I'm going to believe that crap; why the hell were you following me?"

Ichigo was staring at us dumbfounded, but I noticed his eyes lingered on Adachi.

"I just told you moron."

"So why were you hiding behind this building?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I... uh," I paused. Okay, he had caught me this time.

"This you're friend, Hyōka?" Ichigo asked putting his hand back on my shoulder.

"As if? You've met my friends; does he look like he'd be one of them?"

He lightly slapped the back of my head. "Don't be rude," he extended his hand to Adachi with a smile. "Hi, I'm Kurosaki Ichigo. Sorry about Hyōka's behaviour."

I rolled my eyes. Adachi regarded Ichigo's hand with a raised eyebrow but he eventually took it. Oh what do you know? He did know how to behave sometimes. I guess he wasn't completely stupid. "Adachi Kouta, and I'm used to him being an ass anyway."

Oh so I was the ass now? I clenched my hands into fists. That infuriating little bastard making me look bad in front of Ichigo.

"Just shut the hell up. If anyone knows anything about being an ass it's certainly you," I snapped.

"Hyōka," Ichigo growled warningly.

I glared at him while Adachi snickered softly. Great. He probably thought that Ichigo was my father or something and now he was going to make fun of me for this. I turned on the ginger man. "Kurosaki, leave me alone."

He blinked slowly as if he didn't understand what I was saying. The he slowly shook his head. "I can't do that kid. Now, you said you came here to talk about some project; I don't hear much talking."

How annoying. I turned back to Adachi. "Can we go to your house or something? We should start by taking some notes and planning the project."

All of a sudden he was no longer smiling at my predicament with Ichigo. He seemed hesitant, uneasy even. I raised an eyebrow. It was like he was hiding something. Ha, I had struck gold. If he was able to sense the hollows then his family should as well, and he must have known this.

"Fine," he snapped. "Is he coming?" he jerked his thumb in Ichigo's direction.

I glared at him. "No."

Ichigo scowled but made no argument. "I'll be waiting for you at the clinic. If you don't come back before five Hyōka..." he let the threat hang.

I rolled my eyes. Who did he think he was, Mikami? He couldn't order me around.

As Ichigo turned to leave Adachi started to head in the opposite direction. I had to jog to catch up. He made a few more turns and we both headed down a narrow street bordered on either side by small houses. I swallowed, so he really did live here. I guess I would have felt bad for him if he hadn't been such a dickhead. Ah, who am I kidding, I did feel bad for him. No one should have to live in such a place. It made me think, what kind of family did he have? Did his parents have jobs? How could they even think about raising a family in this neighbourhood? I glanced at the boy in front of me, but all I could see was his back and glances of his clenched fists as he swung his arms. I could tell by the way his shoulders were slouched that he was ashamed. Maybe this was what he was trying to hide. I felt sick to my stomach. He may have been a bully, but to live in this neighbourhood maybe that was all he knew how to do. There was trash all over the place, the buildings were falling apart and I'm pretty sure that this was the hub for a billion and one gangs; it must have been scary as hell. I knew if it was me living here I wouldn't want to take one step out of my house; Adachi really must have it hard.

All of a sudden I felt a painful blow on the side of my head. I reeled back with a loud curse and stared up at Adachi. His hand was still raised from the punch. He glared back at me his face steeled as if he was fighting a secret internal war. I clutched the side of my head willing myself not to fight back.

"Stop looking at me like that. I don't want you're freaking pity," he hissed his eyes flashing.

"Like I would ever feel sorry for you," I snapped. Old habits die hard. I realised from now on if I fought back I would feel like the dirtiest person in the world. Damn consciences.

We glared at each other for a split second before he turned away. "When we go in I don't want you to utter a single word. If my parents are there you say hello and that's it. I'll murder you if you do anything else."

It was only then I realised that we were standing in front of a house. It would have been a pretty decent two story house if it wasn't so ratty looking. A window was boarded shut and it just seemed dirty. We walked up the uneven driveway to the front door. Adachi seemed even more on edge than he had been earlier. He opened the door like he was disabling a bomb then tiptoed inside. I followed without a word.

The first thing I noticed once we stepped into the house was the smell of cigarettes and alcohol; I almost gagged. This was terrible; no wonder Adachi was such a dickhead. There was a ratty old couch a few feet away from us and I saw a just as ratty looking man lying down snoring loudly, a bottle of beer was in his hand. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened here. Adachi let out a sigh of relief which I'm sure he didn't intend for me to hear and proceeded to tiptoe up a flight of stairs. I took one last look at the man on the sofa before wordlessly following him up the stairs. Once we reached the top Adachi grabbed be by my jacket and threw me into a room. He shut the door and pushed me up against it. I was too shocked from what I had just seen to even react; I just stared at him. He looked like he wanted to beat the crap out of me this very moment and was doing all he could to stop himself.

"If you ever tell anyone what you saw here, I'm going to hunt you down," he growled into my ear. When I didn't respond he shook me, causing my head to bang against the door. I winced and struggled against his hold. "Did you hear me, Gomi? If you ever-"

"Was that your father?" I cut him off. I no longer felt the urge to fight him.

His eyes widened in shock, but he let go of me and took a step back. "That man is not even related to me," he sneered.

I clutched my throat; he had a strong grip, but I couldn't care less about that. I stared up at him. "Foster home?" I asked softly, but he didn't seem to hear me.

It had to be the only other option for this. Now I really did feel sick to my stomach. All of a sudden I understood why he was so mean. Why he beat up every other kid at school, why he hated my guts. I knew how people perceived me. Both Mikami and Teito had well paying jobs and I knew that I made people think I was better off than I actually was. To Adachi I was probably some stuck up rich brat. He was more than likely jealous of me. He didn't know that both my parents were dead or that I suffered from anxiety attacks and had a sleeping disorder. I chewed my bottom lip. He had a reason to be so bitter.

He had sunk back onto a sagging bed behind him and stared off into space. I swallowed my pride and pushed every mean thing he had said or done to the back of my mind and walked up to him. He snapped out of his trance and glared at me.

"Adachi, I-" the next thing I knew I was on my butt and my right eye was throbbing painfully.

"I told you I don't want your pity!" he yelled rising from the bed. His face was red and his eyes flashed in anger. In the three months I had known him I had never seen him look angrier. I swallowed heavily. It wasn't that I was afraid of him or anything I just felt guilty all of a sudden. I pulled myself to my feet feeling my eye start to swell. My pride had taken the bigger blow, though. But damn him if he thought I was not going to respond to that. Fine, if he didn't want my pity he wouldn't get it. Bastard.

"Don't flatter yourself. I would never feel sorry for someone like you. In fact you probably deserve everything that you're getting here!" I ended in a yell.

His eyes widened. "Keep your voice down, idiot. If you wake him up I swear-"

But he was cut off by a slurred call from downstairs. "Who the hell is upstairs? Kouta, I know you're home from school."

The glare Adachi sent me could have killed a grizzly bear in its tracks. He shoved past me and opened the door. "Get the hell out," he muttered as he passed me. When I made no movement he growled and grabbed me by my coat again and shoved me out into the hallway. "You go downstairs, show your face then get the fuck away from here."

He pushed me down the stairs and in less than a minute the front door was slammed in my face. I could only stare at the peeling paint as I tried to understand what had just happened.

...

The look on Mikami's face when I entered the clinic that afternoon would have sent a biker gang crying home to their mothers.

"What happened to you?" she demanded as soon as I set foot through the door. My hand flew to my swollen eye and I sighed.

"Some guy punched me," I muttered.

She looked to the heavens before coming over to me and examining my face. She firmly held my forehead and chin and tilted my head this way and that. Eventually she let go a long sigh and straightened.

"Sit down. I'll get you an ice pack," she disappeared to the back room.

I plopped myself into one of the chairs and stared at me feet. Usually my brain would go into hyper drive after something like this, but right now I could only focus on one thing and that was Adachi. I don't know, I guess I had always pictured him as being a big douche bag. I had never really thought about his home life; I had assumed that he came from a normal family. Never would I have dreamed that he was a foster kid and now he suddenly didn't seem like so much of a douche. I felt bad for him, actually. I snorted softly; I felt bad for the guy who made my school life a living hell. It was his fault most of the time that I got into trouble. However, when I thought of his home life I began to wonder who the victim here really was. Sure enough he started most of our fights, but now _I _felt like the bully. I chewed my bottom lip. I sure had made things difficult for him as well. Maybe I should have stood down more often than I had. Maybe-

"So how did everything go?"

I raised my head to see Ichigo going through some files at the front desk. He dropped them when he saw my face.

"Oh good god, can't I leave you alone for one minute without you getting yourself beat up? I thought that guy was your friend."

I sighed. "Adachi and I are the furthest thing from friends and please, I know you didn't really leave."

Ichigo chuckled. "It's my job to keep an eye on you. Like I would let you wonder around a neighbourhood like that, anyway. If Adachi isn't your friend then who is he?"

"He's the school bully," I explained, but the explanation sounded wrong in my mouth even if I had said it countless times before.

"Ah, now you see you're making me look like a terrible guardian. If I had known that guy was bad news I wouldn't have left you with him."

"He has a troubled home life," I shocked myself when I said that. I was making excuses for him now.

Ichigo frowned. "That's no excuse for him to give you a black eye. I'll talk to him tomorrow-"

"No, don't." I cut in.

"Listen Hyōka, this guy is bullying you. It doesn't matter where he's from or how messed up his family is he has no right to take it out on someone else."

"I can handle myself, Kurosaki. I don't need your help with this. Plus, you don't even know the full story."

He paused and sent me a weird look. "Regardless, I'm still going to talk to him."

"Kurosaki..." I growled.

"He has high spiritual pressure. I want to know if he can sense hollows as well," he blurt out. My jaw dropped. So, I had been right Adachi could sense hollows. Well, I guess that meant I didn't have to investigate anymore.

"How can you tell if someone has high spiritual pressure?" I asked.

He scratched the back of his neck. "I don't really know they just give off this... feeling. It's hard to explain, you just know. Like... um, I'm sure you've gotten this feeling when Mikami's around. She gives off this kind of, I don't know, an air of confidence, but it makes you feel warm and safe."

I cocked my head. Now that he mentioned it I actually did feel safe with Mikami around. "So that's how reiatsu feels?"

"It varies from person to person; my friend Rukia's reiatsu is cold like ice, but generally people with high reiatsu make you feel safe they just _feel _strong. The good people that is..."

"But Adachi never felt like that."

"You may not have noticed it. When I was younger I couldn't sense reiatsu at all."

"Oh. And Kurosaki, don't mention my name when you talk to him. And-"

"Just because you don't want me too I won't bring the bullying up, but mark my words, Hyōka, if he touches you again I'll be giving him a piece of my mind."

Just then Mikami came back in with an ice pack in her hand. "Here," she handed it to me. "What were you two talking about?" she turned to Ichigo. "Who are you going to give a piece of your mind?"

I shook my head. "It's nothing."

But Ichigo had other plans. "Hyōka's being bullied at school."

Damnit Ichigo! I hadn't mentioned it to her for a reason. I shot him a death glare. He just winked at me then waltzed off to the back room.

Mikami sat down in the seat next to me. "Were you ever going to tell me?" she asked calmly.

I turned to face her slowly finding myself trying to sense her reiatsu, but I still didn't know what to look for. I shook my head forgetting all about this sensing thing. I had expected shouting or something. This calm questioning was kind of scary. "I... uh... if it got really bad, maybe, but it's not as bad as it was in Tokyo so you don't have to worry."

"Did he give you that black eye?" she didn't look comforted by my words at all. I thought she would have been. In Tokyo I had to transfer out of a school once because the bullying was so bad. That had been when I was young and stupid and didn't know how to fight back.

I sighed and nodded. "I deserved it, this time."

She raised an eyebrow. "You deserved it? Since when do you admit that you did something wrong?"

She had a point. I was always right, never wrong. It was physically impossible for me to be wrong. I wasn't feeling like my cocky self that afternoon, though. "I did something that he told me not to do."

"So who's he to tell you what you should and should not do?"

I shrugged. "He kinda called the shots on this one, Mikami. Anyway can we drop this? I'm tired."

She sighed. "We'll talk about this at home. I'm going to have to stay a little while longer. You think you'll be able to wait?"

"It's not like I have a choice anyway," I grumbled.

"Keep the ice on your eye," she instructed as she headed back to the back room. "Twenty minutes on twenty minutes off."

I sighed; now what the hell was I supposed to do until closing time?

* * *

**Well, tell me what you think?**

**like I said Adachi was going to become more important later on and well yeah. I don't really like flat characters so, I gave him a little bit of background. It's all going to come into play sooner or later so bear with me.**

**Don't forget to review!**

**-Mymomomo**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi guys**

**Okay I have some kinda bad news, summer's winding down, and from now until November I'm going to be really busy with school work so I can't promise many updates. They will be far and few between. Blame the unfair education system, which is so time consuming I can't even breathe. I apologise in advance. Sorry.**

**Anyway, on a brighter note I'm here with a new chapter with much plot development ^^**

**Enjoy**

**Edited:4/08/13**

* * *

I knew I wasn't supposed to be doing this, but if I didn't do anything I wasn't supposed to then things would be a lot different for me right now. True to his word Ichigo had cornered Adachi after school and was talking to him over a milkshake at the ice cream parlour down the street. I sat in the booth behind them trying to be as discrete as possible. Ichigo had warned me not to interfere and Adachi hated my guts more than usual at the moment. However, I was dying to know what was going on with the boy and I would find out no matter what the cost. Thankfully, Ichigo hadn't seen me when I slipped into the store and into the booth next to them. I strained my ears to hear their conversation over the din of the restaurant and ignored the annoyed glances that the waiters were giving me. I glared back at them and they slunk off to do whatever other jobs they had.

"Can I ask you a question, Kouta-kun?" I heard Ichigo begin the conversation. I snorted at the use of an honorific with Adachi's name. He didn't even use 'kun' for my name; it was just Hyōka to him. I narrowed my eyes.

"Yeah, I guess. You already brought me here," Adachi mumbled.

"Okay, I know I'm going to sound crazy and all, but-"

"If it's about Takemitsu then I don't want to hear it."

Ichigo paused. "Why do you assume I want to talk to you about Hyōka?"

"You're related to him, aren't you?"

He chuckled. "Related! No, not at all. I'm his sister's boss nothing more. Anyway we're not here to talk about him, or his black eye," I could feel Adachi tense at Ichigo's offhand warning. That bastard, he promised not to bring anything up. "We're here to talk about you."

"He told you didn't he? He told you about my parents," venom dripped off his words and I felt myself swallow involuntarily.

Ichigo hesitated. "No... He didn't tell me anything about you. I... um, I noticed something about you yesterday and I have a few questions."

"Alright let's hear them, then."

"Now, like I said this is going to sound weird, but please hear me out. You can see ghosts, can't you? Don't worry I'm not making fun of you or anything; I can see them too. I've been able to see them for my entire life and I get this feeling that you can see them as well. Is this true? "

The ensuing silence lasted for so long that I thought that Adachi had got up at left, but eventually he spoke.

"Yeah," his voice was so soft I was barely able to hear it. I blinked, so after all the trouble I had gone through to get him to admit that he just up and answered Ichigo's question with a simple 'yeah'. If he had asked anyone that question the response should have been 'are you crazy'. But then again this was Ichigo I was dealing with. He sometimes got this serious look in his eyes when he spoke that he could have convinced the pope to become an atheist. Still, he was talking to _Adachi_; what did Ichigo have that I didn't? Why was Adachi so open towards him? Besides that fact that he was super easy to talk to, funny, kind, considerate, caring ... yeah, I think I should stop now. I shuddered; he really was beginning to grow on me.

I heard the leather seats squeak as either Ichigo or Adachi moved around. "So what are you going to do with me? Send me off to a psycho hospital?"

I could practically feel Ichigo raise an eyebrow. "I just told you that I could see them too. If you're crazy then that means I am as well. And I'm a doctornso being crazy wouldn't look too good on my résumé," he sighed. "I just want to help you. I remember how tough it was for me to see things that others couldn't."

Adachi snorted. "It's not tough, it's just weird."

"Yeah, I won't deny that. But Kouta-kun if anything goes wrong or if you just want advice call me. Here's my card."

Fabric rubbed against leather as Ichigo made to leave. I tried to shrink into the furthest corner of the booth. If Ichigo saw me here then that would be it.

"Wait," I wiped an imaginary sweat drop from my forehead. That was close.

"Yes?"

"You said ghosts, but," he paused, "It's not the ghosts that are the problems. They're these..."

"Hollows. I assume you're talking about beast-like apparitions with white masks. They shouldn't be that much of a problem a few of my friends and I make sure that they don't hurt anyone in this town."

"How?"

"I'm not at liberty to tell you that, but," I heard him move around a bit and the click of a pen. "Come to this address after school tomorrow. There's someone who will be able to explain this better than I can."

"How do I know you won't try anything funny?"

"Because, I'm a doctor; I'm way too busy to be playing a prank on a middle school-er. Just trust me this ghost business isn't something to be taken lightly."

They lapsed into silence again and I replayed what Ichigo had said in my head. So, he had friends that helped him with the hollow hunting, interesting. I wonder why he hadn't told me anything about that.

"I should go now, Kurosaki-san, my father doesn't like when I'm late from school."

"Just call me Ichigo and it was nice chatting with you. I'll see you tomorrow right?"

"I, um..."

"Well, just think about it. You don't have to come if you don't want to."

I heard heavy footsteps leave the store. Well Adachi was gone now I just had to wait for Ichigo to leave so I could sneak out. I had some questions for him later, but instead of getting up I heard him lean back in his seat and take a sip of his milkshake. Then I heard a soft dial tone; he was calling someone?

"Hey, Rukia."

Rukia? He had mentioned her name before, but for some reason I got a case of déjà vu.

"You remember that boy I was telling you about yesterday?...The bully...I just talked with him... Can you keep an eye on him?... I'm not asking you to do my job!... Fine as a favour then... Come on you're not that busy... I know you're stationed in Karakura for the time being and I have something else to deal with at the moment... just make sure he doesn't get into any trouble... thanks... oh and hehasreallyhighspritualpressuresoyoumightwanttokee paneyeoutforhollowsorevenarrancarthanksagainyou're thebestbye!"

I heard the person on the other end of the line scream a few profanities before the call was ended. I held back a chuckle. So, she was one of his hollow fighting friends. That still didn't answer my question to why he had never told me about her before; they seemed really close. I frowned; how could I have known Ichigo for over three months and not have met a single one of his friends? How could he not have mentioned any of his friends?

A cup slammed on the table in front of me startling me from my thoughts. "Didn't your sister tell you that it's not polite to eavesdrop?" Ichigo asked sitting down across from me. "You have a lot to answer for, Hyōka. Didn't I tell you not to interfere?"

"Which I didn't," I supplied. "How did you even know I was here?"

"Until you learn to control your _reiatsu_, you'll stick out more than a purple alien in a sheep herd."

I stuck out my tongue. "So who's Rukia?"

He narrowed his eyes at me. "A friend."

"That fight's hollows. Why didn't you tell me about her?"

"I didn't see the importance; you were bound to meet her sooner or later."

I raised an eyebrow. "I was?"

He ignored me. "Anyway, don't you have to meet your therapist today? It's Wednesday; you have Wednesday appointment's right?"

I nodded. "How do you know?"

"I'm your doctor I should know things like that. Plus, every Wednesday I hear Mikami yelling at you to get your butt down to her office. Come on I'll walk you there; let's go."

I sighed as I got out of the booth and followed him out of the store. When we reached Hagino-san's office I vowed that I would never walk anywhere with Ichigo again. He was annoying and insisted that we talk he also held my hand, despite all my protests, when we crossed the streets. That wasn't even the worst part; someone had asked him if I was his son. He was still laughing fifteen minutes after the incident. We didn't even look alike. He was tan I was pale, he had brown eyes and I had teal, he had orange hair and mine was white. We were total opposites, nothing alike.

"Well, we're here, I'll see you later, son," he laughed.

I rolled my eyes. "Why is that so amusing to you?"

He shrugged. "If you knew the circumstances then you'd be laughing your head off too," he ruffled my hair.

I growled and slapped his hand away. That annoying, frustrating idiot; why did he insist on being so mysterious even when being mysterious clearly didn't suit him? I was about to ask what he meant by that but he was already halfway down the street when I looked up. I sighed and pushed the door to Hagino-san's office open.

...

"When do you get your cast taken off?"

I looked down at my left arm. "Next week Tuesday, I think. Or at least that's what Kurosaki said."

Hagino-san chuckled and pushed her glasses up her nose. "You talk about him, like he's the bane of your existence."

"That's 'cause he's the most annoying person I've ever met."

"Why do you say that?"

"'Cause he is."

She raised an eyebrow. "Okay, Hyōka. So how were your first couple days back at school?"

I leaned back into the chair and folded my arms across my chest. "You remember that Adachi guy?"

"Yes. What did he do this time?"

"Well he didn't do it this time, but Hamada-sensei made me history partners with him."

She raised her eyebrows. "Why didn't you ask to change partners then? You obviously can't work together with him."

"They won't let us change."

"Then how about you take this as a chance to work out your differences?"

I snorted. "Talking to Adachi is like talking to a brick wall except he punches back."

"So is that how you got that black eye?"

I raised my hand to my face. I had actually forgotten about it. It was still a bit puffy and tender but it was nowhere near as bad as yesterday. "Um, sort of. I kind of deserved this one."

She tilted her head and picked up her note pad and pen. "Why would you say that?"

I hesitated. "I know everything I say here remains confidential, but you really can't tell anyone else. Promise."

She nodded. "I promise."

"I think Adachi, is being abused by his parents."

Her eyes widened, "What makes you say that?"

"I followed him home after school yesterday – it's not like that, I wanted to get started on our history project. And well, he lives in a really bad part of town and his house is all run down and dirty and smells of alcohol and cigarettes. Plus, his father, well foster father, looks really mean and scary like he wouldn't hesitate to hit him or anything."

"Hyōka, you have to tell someone be it Mikami or a teacher. This is serious; you can't afford to keep it a secret this time around."

"If I tell anyone he'll kill me."

"I thought you weren't afraid of him."

"I'm not, I just feel like I shouldn't give him any more trouble than he already has. I feel bad for him."

She sighed. "I'm sorry Hyōka, but I'm going to tell Mikami about this, she can notify the school and we can get that boy out of there."

"No!" I exclaimed almost jumping out of my seat. She narrowed her eyes at me. "It's already been taken care of. Kurosaki talked to him this afternoon; I... um, I hung back to listen. He said if anything goes wrong he'll take care of it."

She sat back and set down her note pad. "Hyōka, I hope you understand the gravity of this situation. It's a legal offense to mistreat children. Teito works with the law and you of all people should know that. I still think I should tell either him or Mikami even if Kurosaki-san says he can take care of it."

"I know, but if he wanted my help he wouldn't have threatened me. If he finds out I told anyone he'll hate me even more. Please, can't we just keep this between us?"

"I'm sorry, but no. You've involved me in this, Hyōka-kun; it goes against my better judgement to do nothing."

My stomach gurgled uncomfortably; I needed to stop her. I wracked my brain for any possible way to deter her. "What if I give you his address or something and you can confront him about it personally?"

"You really don't want him to know you told, do you?"

I nodded.

"Fine, I'll see if I can talk to him, but I won't mention you told me, alright?"

"I would rather if you left him alone."

She shot me a sharp glance. I hung my head. If Adachi found out, I would be dead meat. I could hold my own against most people, but he was like a mammoth and he would crush me. I didn't want to fight him, not anymore at least.

Hagino-san cleared her throat to dissipate the suddenly uncomfortable atmosphere in the room. "So, Hyōka, any panic attacks recently?"

"This morning I had a small one in the shower."

She made a quick note. I knew the question she was going to ask next so I took the liberty of answering. "I was thinking about the history project and Adachi, plus Hamada-sensei wants me to stay back after school to catch up on the work I've missed. I guess I felt overwhelmed for a second."

She nodded and so our session continued.

...

"_Is that the best you can do?"_

_I spun around to see a brown-haired man pointing a sword towards me._

_I let loose a growl and held my sword out at him. "Don't get cocky, Bastard; I'm going to hack you to pieces!"_

_He raised an eyebrow. "Oh really, how is that so when you can't even protect the ones you hold dear?"_

_My stomach sank as I spun around to see a girl with brown hair tied up in a bun, a strawberry-blonde woman, a man with long white hair, and a number of other people. They all wore black kimonos and were all held captive by human-like hollows in white clothes. What the hell? How did this happen._

"_If you had been stronger then this wouldn't have happened," he taunted._

_I felt anger flare up in my chest, "I'm going to murder you for doing this!"_

"_I don't think so."_

"_BASTARD!" I yelled and swung my sword at his head or rather where his head should have been; he wasn't there anymore. I gasped and spun around searching for him. I heard him laugh._

"_You're pathetic."_

_I couldn't even register what happened next. I looked down and saw the cross gaud of his sword pressed against my chest right above my heart. The blade was buried deep in my body; his hand held it firmly in place. As his laughter grew a sudden, unbearable pain blossomed throughout my chest._

"_B-bast-t-tard..." I managed to stammer as blood dripped out of my mouth._

_My vision began to swim and I began to feel light headed. Then the sword was ripped out of my chest, but all I saw was an explosion of red. I wasn't sure if it was just my imagination or if all that blood had really just come spurting out of my body. All I could feel was pain, mind numbing pain. I coughed again, causing my chest to feel like it was going to tear open from the pressure and I chocked on the blood._

"_Weak, that's what you are."_

_I began to fall. Wind whipped at my kimono and my skin. I was so high up that the tops of the skyscrapers looked like grey blocks. Oh, yeah I was afraid of heights too wasn't I? Everything was so jumbled up now I couldn't tell if I was panicking or not. I knew I must have been, though. Even with all the blood I was losing my heart rate still sped up causing the blood to flow faster and faster out of my body._

"_Pathetic."_

_Blackness began to swim in the corners of my eyes. The buildings drew closer at an alarming rate. I felt my body grow cold and__ begin to feel __numb. Then all of a sudden I was lying down in a pile of snow. I was no longer falling and my chest didn't hurt. I stared up at the dark sky and watched as tiny white flakes fell to the ground. _

_Everything was calm and serene. I took a deep breath and got up to sit on my heels. I felt tired and drained and the falling snow was making me feel even drowsier. I yawned but as I opened my mouth wide I heard a faint roar like a lion or a dragon. I froze; my moth was still open widen enough to swallow a train. Once again my heart started to speed up and I swallowed thickly. _

"_H-hello? Is anyone out there?!" I knew calling out was useless. If it was an animal it would not be able to talk anyway. Still, I felt the need to communicate with it somehow. _

"_What are you? What do you want?"_

_I listened closely but all I could hear was the howl of the wind. Useless, I berated myself. Did I really expect it to answer me? If there was even something out there. I snorted while picking up a handful of snow clenching it until it turned into a lumpy mass in my hand. There was nothing else on this god forsaken plain of ice; it was just me with a bunch of snow. I threw the snowball as far as I could. See I was all alone-_

"_sten..."_

_What the...That had sounded like a voice. My eyes widened and my ears pricked up. No, it had to be the wind; there was nothing else here. Nonetheless, deep down I knew that it hadn't been the wind. I stood up and spun in a slow circle. _

"_What did you say?" I Shouted. My voice echoed back to me._

"_sten..li...sen..."_

_I paused. Like hell that was the wind. _

"_I don't understand you!"_

_The wind suddenly picked up pace and snow rushed at me from all directions. I was almost knocked off my feet. The howling became unbearable and I clutched my hands over my ears. _

"_LISTEN!"_

_There was no mistaking the words this time. The yell echoed in waves around the empty plain and I shut my eyes as tight as I could. Listen? Listen to what? The voice, the-_

_All of a sudden I was tumbling back. The snow and the wind were gone and I was free falling through thin air. Buildings rushed closer to me by the second and I opened my mouth to scream. All that came out was a soft gurgling noise and warm blood. My chest throbbed in unbearable pain and cold laughter echoed in my ears. _

"_Pathetic... failure...Inadequate... powerless..."_

The next thing I knew my sheets were trying to strangle me and I was screaming like my life depended on it. My chest seized up and white hot pain spread out from the point directly above my heart. I clutched at my chest as cold sweat broke out all over my body and I began trembling. I gasped for air and coughed at the same time. With my free hand and with what little awareness I had left I groped around for Hyourinmaru. Once my hand enclosed around his soft form I hugged him to my chest and silently rode out the waves of the panic attack.

...

I awoke the next morning with Teito sleeping next to me. His arm was draped over my waist and my face was buried into his chest. I vaguely remembered him rushing into my room last night after I had woken up screaming. Between him and Mikami he was the lighter sleeper and his room was nearer to mine. He must have heard me last night and come to check on me. I groaned as I tried to wiggle out from his hold. He mumbled something and began to stir. After a few seconds he groggily sat up and glanced around confused until his eyes landed on me. He covered his mouth as he yawned.

"Good morning, Koko-chan," he mumbled. "How're yah feeling?"

I considered his question. I was still tired, that was for sure, and my chest felt tight; it hurt slightly every time I took a breath. My mouth tasted faintly of something metallic as well. "I'm fine." I said at length.

He shook his head and chuckled. "Are you serious? Here I was trying to calm you down for the better part of two hours and you wake up like nothing happened. Do you know how hard you kick in your sleep?"

I frowned; he had spent two hours trying to calm me down?

"You don't remember?" he asked. I shook my head. "You were screaming bloody murder last night. Thank god Mikami sleeps like a log or you would be at the clinic right now. Anyway, you had a panic attack, but you relaxed after fifteen minutes and fell back asleep. Then you had nightmares you were mumbling stuff and thrashing all around. You sure you don't remember any of that?"

I nodded. I didn't remember dreaming at all last night. But I must have if I had woken up screaming. I clutched Hyourinmaru to my chest and tried to recall what I had dreamt. But it was like a blank void. Teito ruffled my hair.

"Don't let it worry you, Koko-chan. You're alright now and that's what matters. I'll go wake up Mikami and you go get ready for school, okay?" he rolled off my bed and left my room whistling.

I watched him leave, frowning. How could I not remember my dreams? I always remembered them. I squeezed the dragon a bit tighter than was necessary and chewed my bottom lip.

"Why can't I remember?" I muttered holding the dragon up to my face. He was silent as usual; his red button eyes gave nothing away. I growled and brought him back into my chest. "Come on, Hyourinmaru, give me something."

Then it hit me like a flash and all of a sudden I was cold. Before my eyes my breath turned into white clouds. I ignored all that as a foreign yet eerily familiar name echoed around my head.

Momo.

Where did that come from? Did –

"Koko-chan, turn off the AC this instant! We're two weeks away from winter; are you insane?!"

And thanks for killing the mood once again, Teito. I shook my head and got up from my bed. Now what was that name again? Mo... Mi... Mikami? No, it wasn't Mikami even though her name jumped around my head endlessly every day. I sighed; damnit and it had been on the tip of my tongue too. Whatever it would come back soon enough, right? Anyway, why the hell was it so cold all of a sudden?

* * *

**Yay Hyourinmaru! What an entrance ^^ So yeah that was his first word, how cute ^^ and now Hyoka knows to listen, but to listen for what is the question. And I'm sure, you've noticed be he finally remembered a few names even if he can't recall them at the moment, but it's a sign of improvement right? His mind puts up barriers from his past life, idk stress issues I guess, you wouldn't want a 12 year old running about thinking he's a military captain who can control ice, now would we? Like Hyoka needs an eve bigger head. I'm babbling, sorry. Oh and like I said Adachi's role keeps on getting bigger and bigger and Rukia's back!**

**Anyway, anything you'd like to say to me before my three month sabbatical? Review, please.**

**-Mymomomo**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hope you guys haven't forgotten me. I apologise for my unintended sabatical, school and life got in the way. I'm still not sure when I will get the time to sit down and write the next chapter. But hey, I did say I may not post anything until December... and it's still November! That's pretty exciting, right?**

**So enjoy what you can, hope u people don't need a refresher... but just in case:**

**Hyoka is back in school after being attacked by a hollow. He's been assigned to do a History project with bully, with a bad home life; Adachi. Also, Hyourinmaru has been trying to contact him through his dreams. Which is also where we left off. **

**Enjoy ^^**

* * *

Today was not my best day. My stomach bubbled uncomfortably as I tried to pay attention to what Hamada-Sensei was talking about. I guess last night hadn't gone as well as I had thought. Maybe I should have just stayed home today. I cursed myself, when Teito had asked me if I was alright I shouldn't have said yes. I stifled a groan and rested my forehead on my desk. Those stupid dreams, what had I ever done to deserve them? No one understood how badly I wanted to go to sleep, I just couldn't because every time I did I would wake up having a panic attack.

"Takemitsu, am I boring you?"

Hamada-sensei's voice echoed all around the classroom. Damnit, why was it every time I did something wrong someone was there to make me pay for it? I groaned as I sat up and leaned back in my seat.

"Not today." I sighed.

The teacher raised her eyebrows at me and I saw Ariwa slap his forehead beside me. It took me a while to realise that what I said probably hadn't been the best response to help my situation. I sighed again and pushed back my chair from the desk. I might as well head to the principal's office. Like I said this was not one of my better days.

"Where are you going?" She demanded as I stood up. A few of the other students began to snigger others stared at me in disbelief.

"I'm saving you the trouble." I headed over to the door, each step felt as though I had a hundred pound weights attached to me feet.

She let out a huge sigh and rubbed her temples. "Sit down." She snapped, "Before I actually do send you to the principal." I obeyed, sitting down with a grateful puff of air. "And don't let me catch you sleeping again."

"Technically, I wasn't sleeping..."

She sent me a look that said if I spoke again I would actually be in trouble. I sighed as she turned away and went back to teaching. Not a second later Ariwa turned to me.

"What was that?" He whispered.

I shrugged and rubbed my arms trying to get rid of the goose bumps that had suddenly risen up on my flesh. He sighed and handed me the notes that he'd been taking. "Just pay attention, Hamada-Sensei, will gut you like a fish, if she catches you sleeping one more time."

I picked up a pencil and chewed on the end. "I wasn't sleeping in the first place."

"You sure? You look like death, Hyōka." He rolled his eyes.

I scowled at him. "Like you would know what death looks like."

He raised an eyebrow in my direction then turned back to the front of the class. "Thanks. You know, you really can be a jerk sometimes."

I winced. Well done, Hyōka. "Shit, I'm sorry, Ariwa. I forgot-"

He let out a short laugh. "You forgot?"

"I'm sorry, I can't remember every little detail about you!" I hissed exasperatedly.

"Little detail? Just shut up and pay attention." He yanked his notes back from me and focused his attention to the front of the room. I could tell by the deep crease between his eyebrows that he would not be talking to me for a while.

I let out an annoyed breath and pushed my chair away from the desk so I could lean over. The screech, however, managed to be perfectly synchronised with a lull in Hamada-sensei's speech. She glared at me over the top of her glasses.

"This is your second warning, Takemitsu. Stop disturbing the class."

I narrowed my eyes. I had pushed back my chair and all of a sudden I was disturbing the class? She was lucky I was not in the mood to argue. I gritted my teeth and rested my chin on my folded arms. This school had it in for me. I took a deep breath a tried to focus on the lesson but I felt my eyelids start to droop. Damnit, I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment trying to chase away the drowsiness. There would be serious repercussions if I ever had a night mare in class. Namely, those who already thought I was crazy would now have proof. My eyes began to droop again and I felt myself slipping into sleep. It took my brain a fraction of a second to realise that it could not let me go to sleep. I jerked up right so suddenly that I accidentally knocked my text book off the desk. It landed on the ground with a loud, echoing thud. The entire class went silent and turned to look at me. Not knowing what else to do I bent over and quickly picked up the book, muttering a short apology.

"Outside." Hamada-Sensei was breathing down my neck in an instant. "This is the third time, now out. Wait in the hall until this period is done."

I stared indignantly up at her. "It was an accident."

She pointed to the door. "I warned you."

"I didn't do it on purpose. It's not like I just sit down and plot ways to disturb your class."

"If I have to tell you one more time, you're going to the principal."

I ignored the looks that were moving around the classroom. I stood up making sure I made as much noise as possible and I gave her the dirtiest look I could muster up then marched out of the classroom.

"It's no wonder you're forty, single and a middle school teacher." I spat before I slammed the door shut. I could practically feel the room hold its breath as I left.

Once outside I slumped against the wall and slowly slipped to the floor. I was certainly going to get it tonight. She was going to call Mikami and I was going to have to sit through a lecture on why I should not talk like that to my elders. I sighed and placed my head between my knees. I probably should not have said that to Hamada-sensei. What was wrong with me today? Usually I had _some_ control over my tongue. I couldn't believe that I had attacked a teacher personally. If that didn't spell suspension, I don't know what did. Mikami was going to kill me. I gripped a clump of hair in my hands and tugged lightly. This was perfect, just perfect. I honestly didn't mean to do any of this, it just sort of happened. But of course that was not a suitable excuse for anything. Damn it all! I groaned out loud. And to top it all off, I was beginning to feel sicker by the minute. In class I was just feeling out of it and slightly lethargic but now my head was pounding and there was a dull ache all over my body. I really wished I had stayed home that morning.

The next period was a joint study with Kasai's class. I felt a little better by that time, though. The three of us sat at a table in the library, trying to get some math homework done. Actually, I was helping them to get some math homework done. I had already done mine. But I couldn't concentrate. For the first time in my life I didn't understand the maths problems. I was making stupid errors when I showed them how to solve a problem and I mixed up the procedures. Ariwa and Kasai kept on giving each other exasperated glances. I tried to ignore them.

"And then since you get 6 here all you have to do is divide it by the answer in part b and you get 2.67."

Ariwa sighed. "Its 3 plus 2 not 3 multiplied by 2. You should have gotten 5 not 6."

I frowned. "Fine if you know how to do it then why bother asking me?"

"Because I don't understand. It's not like you to be making so many mistakes, Hyōka."

I rubbed my forehead, "I'm not a god! I'm entitled to make mistakes every now and then."

"Stop snapping at us." Kasai growled, obviously not amused with my behaviour. "If you're tired then go to sleep. None of us are stopping you."

I glared back at her. My headache was now coming back at full throttle. I gritted my teeth. She didn't understand that I wanted nothing more than to sleep but I couldn't because of the dreams – no night mares – that prevented me. I turned away from them and pulled out a history text book from my bag.

Kasai rolled her eyes when she realised that I was not going to take her advice. "You know, you're going to crash and burn if you keep on pushing yourself like this."

I snorted. "I'm not made of glass, so stop treating me like I am."

She narrowed her eyes at me then turned to Ariwa. "Talk to your friend. Tell him he's an idiot." With that she slammed her book shut and got up from the table.

Ariwa shot me a withering glance. "What is it with you today?"

I shrugged and rubbed my forehead, trying to concentrate on the book in front of me, farming laws, how fun. I was midway through the assigned reading when a soft whisper disturbed me. I looked over the top of the book to Ariwa. He looked back questioningly.

"Hmmm?"

"Did you say something?" I asked.

"No."

"Oh. I could have sworn you said something."

He raised an eyebrow. "I haven't said anything for the past half hour. You should really get some rest. You've been on edge for the whole day, Hyōka."

"No. What I really need to do is to catch up on the work I missed. Sleep is not even in the equation."

He sighed but went back to his work. I was thankful that he didn't pursue the topic. Unlike Kasai he knew when I wanted to drop the topic without me having to tell him. I turned back to the book but I barely read one sentence before a cold shiver shot down my spine and a voice from over my shoulder whispered in my ear. I could even feel a puff of icy breath against my ear lobe.

_T... iro... ro... tou... ro..._

I jumped up from my seat knocking it over in shock and sending my book flying across the table. I quickly spun around. Who the hell was behind me?

"Hyōka!"

I turned to Ariwa. He had also stood up and was staring at me like I was crazy. "What is wrong with you?"

"There was somebody behind me! They were whispering in my ear!"

He raised an eyebrow. "No there wasn't. Hyōka, you're really acting strange today. Maybe you should go to see the nurse..."

He trailed off seeing that I was sending him a death glare. "I am _not_ going to the nurse."

He sighed and sat back down. "Fine, but when you faint, it's not going to be on my head."

I rolled my eyes and was about to sit down myself when someone cleared their throat behind me. I slowly turned around to see the librarian glaring at me. Damnit, every single time. It was like a message from above telling me not to do anything wrong. So what I had shouted, I wasn't that loud, right?

She wordlessly handed me a blue slip of paper and I groaned as I read it. I wasn't allowed in the library for a week starting tomorrow because of my lawless rowdiness. Just abso-freaking-lutely perfect.

...

This had officially been the longest school day I had ever been through. The bell signalling the end of the day was like angels singing a hallelujah chorus. My head was now pounding with almost blinding ferocity and I was so tired it was difficult to move.

"Here, let me get that for you." Ariwa offered watching me struggle with a few text books.

I shot him a death glare. It wasn't that I didn't appreciate the gesture but I could carry my own damn books, thank you.

He held his hands up in submission. "Sorry, I was just trying to help. You don't look so good. I can see you trembling from over here."

Yes, I knew he knew I was sick. He had been pointing out for the entire day. I sighed, and rubbed my forehead noting that it felt warm. I swore under my breath. What had caused me to get sick though? I hoisted the books up to my chest and turned to Ariwa.

"I'm fine, plus I have to go to the clinic before I go home, anyway. Let's get out of here."

He nodded and we were about to leave the classroom when Hamada-sensei called me over to her desk. I muttered a few profanities under my breath and told Ariwa to go ahead. I knew she was going to call me out for insulting her that morning. This was officially the worst day ever.

As it turns out I didn't get in trouble for what I said, well not at the moment, the school had called Mikami. But that didn't mean I wasn't in trouble. Somehow, she had found out that both Adachi and I had skipped detention two days ago. And to make up for it we both had to clean the classroom today... and all of next week. Yes, this was officially the worst day ever.

...

"What are you staring at?" I snapped at Adachi. He had been sending me death glares for the entire two minutes that we had been together in the classroom.

He narrowed his eyes and flared his nostrils.

"What?" I was not in the mood for his shit this afternoon. My headache was bad enough already without him adding to it.

Adachi took a few large steps across the classroom and stood towering over me. His face spelt murder. "You. Piece. Of. Shit." He fisted the front of my shirt as he spat out every word in my face.

I rolled my eyes. What had I done now?

"I freaking warned you not to tell anyone. And what do you do? You go blabbing that ugly mouth of yours to some freaking goody-two-shoes woman."

My eyes widened in realisation. Hagino-san had been true to her word. If there was a god up there, he must have hated me. I attempted to shove Adachi away from me but my arms felt like lead when I tried to lift them. I managed to nudge him in the chest, though. I heard him snort then what felt like a truck collided with the side of my head. If my head had not already been pounding I might have realised how much force he had put into that blow. I was knocked to the ground and colours swam before my eyes. I placed a hand to the side of my head, it hurt at the touch. I could just imagine the size of the bruise that was forming there.

Adachi stood over me cracking his knuckles. He was beyond pissed. Before I could react he had yanked me to my feet by the front of my shirt. I tried to pull myself from his grip but he held tight.

"Let go of me, Adachi." I growled trying to hide the growing panic in my voice. He basically had me pinned down I couldn't escape from his grip.

The words had barely left my mouth when his mammoth fist connected with my face. I yelled in pain as I heard rather than felt my nose crack. He let go of my shirt and I stumbled backwards crashing into a desk, blood dripping down my chin. I glared up at him once I had regained my footing.

"What the fuck is your problem? I didn't do anything!" I yelled, my words slurred.

"Liar!" He leapt at me.

I rolled out of the way but he snagged me by my sleeve and pushed me to the ground. I brought him down with me, though, and threw a few wild punches and kicks in his general direction. One connected with his chin. I followed it up with a knee to his stomach and he rolled backwards. I wasted no time in jumping on him pinning him down with my whole body. I was actually surprised that he couldn't push me off; I mean he looked like he weighed at least three times my weight.

"For once, will you talk with your mouth instead of your fists?" I yelled into his face.

He glared at me for a minute before his gaze wondered to a spot over my shoulder. His expression changed from pure anger to smug scowl and he nodded. I frowned and glanced over my shoulder I didn't see anything but I felt a hand grab a fistful of my hair and pull me off Adachi. I hissed in pain and clawed at the hand attached to my head. I cursed myself, how had I not noticed that someone else had entered the room?

So, he had enlisted in the help of his 'friends' coughfollowerscough. How low, three against one? My hands were forced behind my back and held there. I struggled against the hold and was backhanded across the face for all my trouble.

"You coward," I sneered. "Why not fight me by yourself?"

Adachi wiped a trickle of blood from his lip. "Because, I'm not here to fight. I'm here to teach you what happens when you go blabbing about me. You're going to wish you had never opened your mouth."

I swallowed. Things were not looking good for me at all. He was going to kill me. Usually when we fought it was because one of us had done something stupid (more Adachi than I) but he was coming at me with sole purpose to hurt me. Someone had to be around. Someone had to hear me yelling. The school couldn't possibly be empty by now. Someone had to come to save me, right? The two holding me down cackled in apparent delight, what animals, as I tried to escape their hold. I knew what was coming and my self-preservation instincts were kicking in. My brain screamed at me to run.

Adachi somehow managed to realise what I was thinking. "Someone must have heard him. We can't do this here, guys."

I swore inwardly and opened my mouth to yell. A huge hand was slapped over my mouth effectively silencing me. Adachi glared at me smugly.

"The roof," he said, "no one will hear him there. Let's go."

My eyes widened. The roof? The school was five stories high! I struggled against their hold as they dragged me out of the classroom. My heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to explode. They were going to throw me off the edge or something. My lungs seized up and all of a sudden I couldn't breathe. I fought as hard as I could. I squirmed and twisted I kicked and even tried to throw myself to the ground. They were not getting me up there.

"Hold him down! He's like what ten pounds?" Adachi growled.

The grips on my arms were tightened. When I saw the stairs I started to yell. I bit down on the hand covering my mouth and screamed at the top of my lungs. Something, a piece of fabric, was shoved down my throat and the hand was placed over my mouth again and I was pushed up the remainder of the steps. Adachi banged the door to the roof open and when sunlight streamed down the stairwell I felt like throwing up. I knew a panic attack was coming. They pushed me on to the flat concrete surface. My heart was beating like a jackhammer against my chest. My throat went dry when I spat out what seemed to be sweat band. Sweat began to slide down my face and back and I was trembling. I barely registered that Adachi was towering over me cracking his knuckles. He bent down and yanked me to my feet by the front of my shirt. My legs were trembling so badly that if he wasn't holding me up I would have gone crashing back to the floor.

He spat in my face, "Not so tough that you're hear alone, huh? All you have is words. Now let me show you what happens when you really mess with me."

I swallowed, "L-let go of m-me." I managed to stammer. I raised a hand to grasp his wrists and tried to pull them away from me. I knew he could feel me trembling when his face twisted into a sick grin.

"Fine."

With that he shoved me back. I stumbled until I hit the chain link fence surrounding the edge. It squeaked dangerously. My heart must have stopped mid-beat as I stared at the drop to the pavement below. The ground felt like it was tilting to throw me off the edge. All of a sudden I felt like I was free falling from a height that was much greater than five stories. Skyscrapers rushed up to meet me and clouds flew past me. I shut my eyes and I was snapped out of my daze. I realised that I was holding my breath and my legs had gave out. I was kneeling a few feet away from the edge trembling like it was mid-winter. Hot tears were streaming down my face, my stomach felt like it was going into spasms and I chocked on every breath.

"Kouta, what the hell did you do to him?" A voice rang out to me. I had forgotten that they were there. It didn't even dawn on me that they were no longer attacking me.

"He's freaking out! I think you actually hurt him."

"The fucking bitch deserved it. Let's get out of here."

I heard their voices from the end of a tunnel I think the lack of oxygen was getting to me. With the last semblance of consciousness I had I found it ironic that I had said the same words to Ariwa less than half an hour earlier.

...

"Hey... Hey kid..."

I woke to find someone shaking my shoulder and almost instantly wished I hadn't. Excruciating pain blossomed out from my chest I groaned in pain and curled around my abdomen. A new set of tears formed at the corners of my eyes.

"Hey, kid. What happened?

I whimpered in reply.

I heard a sigh then large hands unfolded me and rolled me onto my back.

"What's your name, kid?"

"Take-m-mitsu H-Hyōka." I murmured. I felt weak, like throwing up, my head spun and my throat felt raw. Moments later I fell unconscious again.

...

"He's waking up..."

I groggily opened my eyes and glanced around. Two figures stood over me. I didn't need two guesses to figure out who they were. Mikami and Ichigo. Which meant I was in the clinic again. Great. I sighed but stopped before all the air was out of my lungs. It hurt to take deep breaths.

"How're you feeling, Hyōka?" Mikami asked gently brushing my bangs from my face.

This scene was way too familiar. I thought trying to sit up. I grimaced as a lancing pain shot through my chest. Ichigo silently helped me to sit up by propping a few pillows behind my back and then sat down on the bed. I noticed his eyes following my chest as I breathed, but I decided to ignore him. He was often weird like that.

"I'm fine." I muttered.

Mikami wasn't buying it. "What did I do to deserve you as a little brother?" Mikami groaned, rubbing her temples. "Can't you just take it easy for one day? Is it possible for you not to get into trouble? What were you thinking fighting with a cast still on? You could have re-broken your arm!"

"Wasn't my fault."

"It's never your fault." Mikami rolled her eyes. "What happened this time? Imagine what I thought when you didn't turn up from school this afternoon and I get a call at eight telling me that the custodian found you unconscious on the roof?"

"Well when you put it like that..."

"What happened, Hyōka?"

I hung my head. "Adachi."

"The bully?"

"He's not... yes."I couldn't deny it this time. "Him and a few others beat me up after school."

Mikami winced and sat down on my other side. "I knew we shouldn't have sent you to school today. You didn't look so good this morning. But you missed so much school, and insisted that you were fine." She ended in a sigh.

"You're not mad at me?"

"Right now, no. But I want you tell me what happened."

I sighed, "He was mad that I told Hagino-san about him, and he beat me up because of it." That was a very condensed version, but I wasn't in the mood to talk.

She shook her head, "Of all the little brothers in the world, I had to end up with you." She turned to Ichigo who was snickering quietly.

"I really can't take my eyes off of you for a second." He sighed.

"Then why did you?" I snapped.

"Polite as ever, I see. I guess we can cross of brain damage from the list, Mikami."

I rolled my eyes as Mikmai rubbed her temples. "That doesn't answer my question."

"It was a busy day at the clinic. Where are you manners, Hyōka?" She said through gritted teeth.

"Maybe you should have checked for brain damage, if they're gone." I huffed.

"No need. The more you talk the more you display your usual unpleasant self."Ichigo replied. "Anyway, tonight Hyōka, you're nose is going to be really sore so I suggest not sleeping on your stomach. Oh, and Mikami, remember to give him some medicine before he goes to sleep. His fever has gone down but we can't be too sure. Can you prepare the dosage? The advil is out front."

She nodded and got up. I found it amusing that she, a qualified doctor, was talking orders from Ichigo like she was nothing but a simple intern. I wonder if she realised this herself.

"Now you." He turned to me. "What happened last night that would make you sick?"

I shrugged. "Don't know. Except it was really cold in my room this morning."

He nodded, "Did you have any panic attacks?"

"N... yes last night after the dream."

He frowned. "A dream caused a panic attack? Just what exactly did you dream of?"

I hesitated. I never disclosed my dreams with anyone, except my therapists. But Ichigo... I don't know why I told him. Maybe it was the expression on his face that told me he could help. "I dreamt that I was falling, from the sky. There was some huge war I think... in the sky, with people dressed all in black. I fell because this guy stabed me through the chest... what's with that expression? I'm not crazy, it's just a dream."

He was staring at me with his mouth open like a dead fish. "You never cease to amaze me Tou- Hyōka." He ran a hand through his hair and pulled out a note pad and pen from his pocket. "I know you don't see Hagino-san tomorrow, but I'm scheduling an appointment for you. I want you to tell her about the dreams."

"She already knows."

He paused. "I still want you to see her. I'll give her an exercise for you to do."

I frowned. "They're just dreams, Kurosaki."

He ignored me. "And I want you to tell me about any other dreams like this you've had."

"You're not my therapist."

"Listen Hyōka, we can put a stop to these panic attacks once we figure out the root of them. And I'm going to help you whether you like it or not."

His face was so serious that I was afraid to talk back to him. Fine he could help if he wanted to.

* * *

**Well some development in this chapter. Ichigo has cued in on Toushiro's memories resurfacing as dreams, now how's he going to break this to Hyoka... hmmmm**

**Like I said the next chapter may take a while as well, or until my teachers stop trying to bury me alive under all these assignments and test. **

**Or you're reviews might inspire me to forgo some school work and churn out the next chapter sooner than expected, *hint hint***

**Hope you liked it.**

**-Mymomomo**


	13. Chapter 13

**Merry Christmas! so, here's the long deserved chapter, sorry for the wait... hope it was worth it though.**

**Drama ensues^^ **

**enjoy!**

* * *

I glanced questioningly at the blank sheet of paper Hagino-san put in front of me. She handed me a pencil then sat back in her chair, smiling. For such an impromptu session she sure seemed prepared. It was a Saturday; she normally did not work on weekends. But she had still greeted me normally when I turned up at her office that morning.

"Okay, Hyōka." She said lacing her fingers together. "We're going to do things a bit differently today. Kurosaki- san thinks that your dreams are the key to your anxiety. I agree with him, they do seem to be stressful. You're still keeping the dream journal, right?"

I nodded, wondering where she was going with this. Of course my dreams were stressful; they prevented me from sleeping properly almost every night. We had agreed since our first session that my dreams were linked to my anxiety, why was she bringing this up now? Just what had Ichigo told her?

"Good. Bring it with you to our next session. Today, we're going to focus on fear. Usually dreams are manifestations of your true thoughts, most of which I noticed that you bury under other things."

I frowned; I didn't bury my thoughts. If I did then I would get into half the trouble that I did now.

She smiled at me, seeming to know what I was thinking. "Yes you do. What you tell me you dream about tells me that inside you are scared. But on the outside you shrug it off like its nothing."

"That's because if I lived in fear... well that wouldn't be a life at all, especially since I don't know what I'm scared of in the first place. They're just dreams; I don't know why you're looking so much into them."

"They can answer a few of my questions. Anyway, today's exercise is for you to draw your fears. Before you say anything, just draw what comes to mind. It doesn't have to be good, just do what you feel."

I sighed. What I felt... I felt like I didn't want to do this. I let out a puff of air and picked up the pencil. What was I afraid of? Heights, that was for sure, and I didn't like to sleep, but I had a feeling she wanted something more than that. I chewed my bottom lip. I needed to draw something if I wanted to get out of here. So I drew a few lines not really paying attention. Maybe I should concentrate on my dreams. She seemed intent on those today. The two most vivid were the ones about the blizzard and the falling one. The blizzard wasn't scary just disturbing. I sighed again and thought back to the other dream. I was fighting this man with brown hair dressed all in white. There, that was it. Him. I felt a shiver run down my spine. He had killed me. And what was really scary about him was that after that dream I always woke up with my chest hurting. It was as if he could manage to hurt me from inside a dream... I swallowed, that was impossible he was just a figment of my imagination. He made me nervous every time I thought about him, though. Like he was just going to appear out of nowhere and-

"It's okay, Hyōka, it's just a drawing." Hagino-san's voice cut off my train of thought. I hadn't realised that I was clutching the pencil so hard my knuckles were white and my breathing was short and choppy.

I took a deep breath and nodded. I was being stupid. It was just a dream, after all.

...

Hagino-san told me to sit in the waiting room while she, Teito and Mikami discussed my drawing in her office. Like hell I was going to sit patiently while they were talking about me in the next room. Plus, I wanted to know what she made out of the drawing. I was just as confused as she was. I pushed my ear to the door. They hadn't closed it properly, so I didn't have to strain to hear anything.

"So..." Teito trailed off, "What's going on with Hyōka?"

"I asked him to draw a picture of what he is afraid of today. Kurosaki-san was convinced that his dreams have something to do with his panic attacks. He called me last night and insisted to look more into his dreams. Hyōka has had some very disturbing dreams; I can understand why he might be so affected by them. Kurosaki-san told me, however, that he felt that the dreams were the root of his problem. I thought that it was the other way around, that the dreams were a result of his panic attacks, that they were his mind's manifestation of the root problem. But anyway, he drew this, which confirms Kurosaki-san's theory."

I heard the shuffling of papers.

"It's a man..." Teito trailed off again, "From his dreams?"

"Yes. But he was able to describe this person so vividly that it seemed that he had met him before. Not to mention that when he was talking his body language told me that he was genuinely afraid that he was going to hurt him. This man is from no dream. I'm afraid that Hyōka has met him before."

"What are you getting at, Hagino-san." Teito mumbled again.

"Back in Tokyo, did anything happen with him that he doesn't feel comfortable talking about?"

"I don't understand." Mikami spoke, her voice unusually hard. "If you're talking about how our parents died then he has every right to be uncomfortable"

Hagino-san cleared her throat. "No, I know about your parents, he reacts differently to that. What I'm trying to say, this man might have done something to him to make him so afraid. He was a child predator; maybe, I'm even considering rape as the worst possible scenario."

I flinched at that. Did I really come across as being that scared of a dream?

"No, nothing that drastic ever happened in Tokyo."Mikami's voice was shaking. "I don't know if he's encountered anyone like that here. He's been more secretive about things lately."

"Well, I suggest you two be on the lookout and ask him about this later. He's a really special kid; I would like to see him get better."

...

Dinner that night was awkward to say the least. None of us said anything. All that could be heard was the clinking of food utensils. Tension hung in the room like wet laundry. Eventually Mikami turned to me.

"Is there something you need to tell us, Hyōka?"

I sighed.

"We know you were listening to our conversation with Hagino-san. Who is that man?"

"I don't know. If I've met him before then I don't remember." I muttered, poking a clump of rice with my chopsticks.

"Don't lie to us, Hyōka. That's not what Hagino-san said."

"Well she's wrong. That man is from one of my dreams nothing more."

Teito put down his chopsticks. "Koko-chan, listen to me when I say, you don't need to hide anything from us. If there is someone troubling you-"

I cut him off. "There isn't. And even if there was I wouldn't keep it a secret, I'm not stupid."

"Like the bully at school?" Mikami snapped.

Okay fine, I might have kept it a secret after all. "That's different."

Teito went on like I hadn't interrupted him, "'Cause that story isn't farfetched. There are dirty people in this world and you're a cute kid."

I scowled at him this was not the time for his jokes. "Look, there is nothing going on. It is just a dream. And even if there was a dirty old man trying to seduce me anyway I wouldn't go for it."

"It's not a matter if you'd go for it or not, it's a matter of whether there is one or not."

"There isn't."

"So why did you draw a picture of him?"

I ran a hand through my hair. "Because he's in my dream! I'm freaking scared of him because he stabs me through my chest!"

Both Mikami and Teito were silenced instantly. I had never told them exactly what I dreamt about. I guess this came as a shock to them.

"You dreamt what, Hyōka?" Mikami asked quietly.

I sighed again. "I'm fighting with the man I drew and he stabs me through my chest."

Mikami rubber her forehead, while Teito just stared at me.

"I think you have a really wild imagination, Koko-chan." Teito said at length. "Where did you get that one from, what movie did you see?"

"It wasn't from a movie." I scowled.

"Book then. Koko-chan, how many times do we have to tell you not to read that kind of stuff? From now on I want to see exactly what books you're reading."

I narrowed my eyes. Teito could be just as controlling as Mikami sometimes. "So, you want to control what I read as well. Why don't you just lock me in up a padded cell then, since you clearly don't want me to experience life?"

"No, we just want to cure your anxiety. Stop being such a drama queen. "

"I'll stop when you two stop being so controlling!"

"Don't raise your voice at me, Hyōka. We're doing this because we care."

I was sick and tired of that excuse. They cared a bit too much. I was their brother, not their kid for crying out loud. They should have no say in what I did or did not do. I ground my teeth together. "I'm not going to break. You can loosen up a bit."

"You're mental state is questionable." Mikami spoke up. "If you insist on being so unreasonable all the time, I'm not going to sugar coat this."

"I'm not crazy."

"No, but when you can't decipher reality from fantasy there's a slight problem."

"I'm not schizophrenic either."

"Who do you think you're fooling? Hagino-san told us everything. You're scared of your dreams, to the point that they induce panic attacks. They're not real, Hyōka, they cannot hurt you, but you apparently don't realise this."

I gapped. "T-that's not true." I don't know why the dreams scared me so. I knew they were just dreams, but they still frightened me. And now Mikami thought I actually did have a mental disorder. And Hagino-san... she had promised that whatever I told her would remain confidential. She had told Teito and Mikami everything that I had told her in secrecy. I wondered if she had been doing this from the very start.

Mikami sighed. "Yes, Hyōka, it is. Now that we finally know the cause of your anxiety, we can treat it."

"I'm not crazy!" I yelled shoving my chair back from the dinner table. I couldn't believe this. They were diagnosing me as schizophrenic. I felt anger well up in my chest.

"Hyōka, this is for your own good, we just want to help you."

I clenched my hands so tightly that I felt my nails cut into my palms. "Have either one of you stopped to consider that maybe I don't want your help?"

"Hyōka, you need this. Can you imagine what you happen if we let you go untreated?"

"You could end up in a crazy house." I knew Teito meant that to be a joke to lighten the mood. But I wasn't in the mood for jokes. They were telling me that I had a mental problem, when I was perfectly sane.

"You know what, fuck you guys." I spat before storming from the room. If they thought I was crazy then I would damn well act crazy for them, bastards. I slammed the door to my bedroom and dove on to my bed, grabbing Hyourinmaru and clutching him to my chest. I couldn't believe them. I wasn't crazy. And Hagino... I felt betrayed. That was why I hated talking to people about my problems. It always blew up in my face later. She had promised me that she would never tell anyone. Her whole persona had been an act. She lied to me, that little bitc-

My cell phone started to ring. I sighed, I wasn't in the mood to talk right now. But I knew the only two people who ever called me were Ariwa and Kasai. I grabbed the phone from my desk and answered.

"Yes?"

"Hey. Okay spill, what happened yesterday? I was trying to call you this morning, but it kept on going to voice mail." Kasai's voice echoed through the line.

"I was in therapy all morning."

"Oh, did you have another panic attack? Is everything alright?"

I paused, might as well tell her the truth; she was going to find out from the school anyway. "Adachi and I had a fight after school on Friday."

"God, Hyōka."

"Is Ariwa there?" I asked, that had sounded like him.

"Yeah, I have you on speaker. We were going to invite you to a sleepover tonight, but I couldn't get through to you. Anyway, again? What is with you and Adachi?"

"He just doesn't like me. Anyhow, I did have a panic attack. And Mikami over reacted and made me go to therapy this morning."

"I doubt it was an overreaction."

"It was." I said. I was still bristling from the conversation. I needed to get away for a while. If I saw either of them I would lose it. "Anyway, I'm coming over. Whose house are you at?"

"You're sneaking out? Hyōka, you've been in enough trouble for the week." Ariwa exclaimed. I could practically see him starting to panic.

"I need to get out of here. Mikami and Teito are being fucking retards."

He let out a huge sigh. "I don't know how you do it. We're at Chou's house."

"Okay, I'll be there in around half an hour."

"You're going to regret this, Hyōka."

"The only thing I'm regretting now is being related to either one of them."

...

Sneaking out had been unusually easy, considering that both Mikami and Teito were home. They were both in their rooms. I wasn't the only one shaken by the conversation that night. Good, I hoped the realised that they were being stupid. My bag pack bounced against my back as I walked down a street. The night air was almost freezing against my face and I was beginning to regret not taking a thicker coat. It was going to start to snow soon. I couldn't wait, I loved the snow. Nevertheless, I pulled my hoodie closer around me and stuffed my hands into my pockets. This was going to be a long walk. Kasai lived eleven blocks away.

As I brushed against a few people walking past me I tried to think of other things but my mind kept on drifting back to the conversation. How could they think that I was insane? I was the sanest person I knew. It wasn't fair for them to just declare something like that out of the blue. And it was nothing like Mikami had said. I could tell what was real and what wasn't. I knew that my dreams were just dreams; they were just really scary dreams. Why couldn't anyone understand this? They all labelled me as crazy! I was not crazy! There had to be another cause for my anxiety, it couldn't be schizophrenia...

I had at least expected them to stand by my side. But they had instantly agreed with Hagino's diagnosis. They hadn't even confronted me about this, they didn't even question it. They had just declared that I was mentally unbalanced. I felt my throat constrict. I considered the three of us to be pretty close. We talked to each other and for the most part we included each other in our lives. Even though most of the time they felt more like parents than siblings we were closer than most brothers and sisters I knew. And then they had both ganged up on me like that. They had no proof, I was sane. As sane as possible... I swallowed trying to clear my throat and ignored the prickling feeling in my eyes. Damnit! How could they think I was schizophrenic? The thought alone was ludicrous... but they believed it anyway. I felt as though I had swallowed a watermelon whole and it had stuck in my throat. What was I, seven? Crying because Mikami and Teito accused me of being insane. I stopped and leaned against the side of a building. A few more people brushed past me and I prayed that no one would stop to ask me what was wrong. Hot tears mixed with the icy cold air, creating a burning feeling on my cheeks. I brought a hand to my face and wiped my eyes. I hated them. Couldn't they have just taken the dreams at face value? Why did they always have to go prying into my life? They were frustrating, annoying, maddening, nosey –

I felt a sudden pressure like someone was standing directly behind me. Instantly, I straightened wiping my face on my sleeves. The last thing I needed was for some goody-two shoes person to see me like this and try to help. Slowly I glanced over my shoulder. No one was there. People walked past me going about their regular business. There was no on just standing there. I shook my head; I was being paranoid. I let out a deep breath and continued on. Thankfully it was a long walk so when I reached Kasai's house, my eyes wouldn't be red and puffy anymore. That is if I didn't break down again. Honestly I felt like crap. I felt like everyone I knew and trusted had betrayed me tonight. I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood.

I stopped again; actually, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go to Kasai's house anymore. I would have to explain to them what had happened with me, Mikami and Teito. But then where could I go? I was seriously considering going to sleep in a park when I saw a man standing on the other side of the street staring at me. I paused and stared back. Okay, this was freaky. He stood out of the crowd surrounding him because he was wearing traditional cloths, a white hakama and Kodose... why did that outfit seem so familiar? I had seen it before but whe-

My dream. I froze my eyes going wide and my stomach sank to my knees. _He_ was wearing those exact cloths in my dream. My eyes were glued to the man. I couldn't see his face, only his general shape, but I did see when he vanished into thin air. One minute he was there, the next he wasn't. No one else reacted either. A man in a leather jacket casually stepped into the spot where he had just disappeared and others weaved around him.

Shit. Maybe, I really was crazy. My heart was beating like a jackhammer and cold sweat had gathered on my back and brow. A panic attack was about to come over me. No, I willed myself, not now. It was no use I still felt the anxiety building. I needed to get out of here; I needed to find somewhere safe. I ran blindly through the streets my breath coming out in short gasps. All I saw were dim streetlights, the occasional blur of a car and the grey pavement. I bumped into countless people and I caught snippets of sentences full of indignation, but I didn't care. The only thing I was truly aware of at the moment was the panic that was slowly creeping through my body as I tried to hold back the attack. The world was becoming more and more covered in a thin veil of water. I wiped at my eyes but it didn't help it just made everything even more blurry so I let the tears fall freely down my cheeks. I took a deep breath of the near freezing air and all of a sudden found myself tumbling to the ground. I caught myself before my face hit the pavement and pain lanced up my palms and knees but it was minor compared to the panic that I could no longer hold back. The world spun around me and I was sweating despite the temperature. I closed my eyes but remained as I was on my hands and knees my chest heaving trying to break the invisible barrier that prevented me from breathing. All of a sudden I felt muscled arms wrap around me and scoop me into a just as muscled chest.

"Easy, Hyōka, calm down."

I felt a familiar gentle pressure surrounding me and I instantly began to calm down. When my head cleared up enough I found myself staring into the warm brown eyes of none other than Kurosaki Ichigo. He shifted me in his arms to that I was leaning against his shoulder. I closed my eyes and pressed the side of my head to his neck. I concentrated on my breathing telling myself to slow it down and take deeper breaths.

"See, he's fine now." Ichigo said, his voice loud. I assumed he was talking to the crowd that had so obviously gathered around me when I had collapsed.

"Shouldn't he be taken to the hospital? Somebody call 911."

"No that's not necessary, I'm a doctor, I can take things from here. Thanks for the help."

Very slowly I heard the crowd dissipate. Ichigo rubbed my back and muttered.

"We're going to the clinic. I'll call Mikami to pick you up there."

"No." My throat was dry so my words came out like hoarse whisper.

"Hyōka, you're sick-"

"Don't call her. Please, Kurosaki, don't tell her where I am."

I felt him tense slightly. Eventually he sighed. "You'll explain when we get there. It should take around twenty minutes to get there. Try to calm down; I can feel your heart beating."

...

I sat on one of the beds in the clinic while Ichigo cleaned my grazed palms with an antiseptic wipe.

"So, care to explain why you were running around downtown at ten at night?"

"Do you think I'm crazy?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Well, if you sneak out and decide to go for a midnight stroll in the shopping district then-"

"No I mean like clinically insane."

He paused and sat down on the bed next to me. "No. You have anxiety, it doesn't really qualify you as insane. Where are you going with this? What happened?"

I took a deep breath and told him everything that happened that day. I told him about the drawing and about my dreams and about how Hagino had completely betrayed my trust by conspiring with Mikami and Teito. Then how Mikami insisted that I was schizophrenic and how it hurt that I had to prove to her that I was mentally sound. Ichigo listened silently but he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. When I was done he shifted slightly to face me and wiped a tear from my cheek with his thumb. I had not even realised that I was crying again. I quickly wiped my eyes and blinked a few times.

A series of emotions played across Ichigo's face. Several times he looked like he was going to say something but decided against it. He shook his head at length.

"Damn." He scratched the back of his neck. "Hyōka, I know it may seem like Mikami and Teito are out to get you, but trust me they love you and want the best for you. You're not alone in this. So, what if she thinks you have schizophrenia if you think that there's another reason for your anxiety then I'll believe you too. Hyōka, you're stronger than this. And if I know anything about you it's that you're not going to let anyone push you around. Just promise me this, think before you act. Make sure that this is what you really want."

"I don't understand."

He smiled and ruffled my hair. "You can stay here for the night. I'll prepare the guest room." He squeezed my shoulder, "Don't worry about it Hyōka, if you say you're not crazy then you're not crazy. I believe you. We'll talk more in the morning, right now you need a nice warm bath and some sleep."

I blinked, "You're not going to call Mikami or Teito?"

"Yeah right. She's probably having a cow as we speak. And I'm not eager to be charged for kidnapping."

I laughed a bit.

...

"Rukia, things are getting out of hand. We shouldn't keep this a secret anymore... No... No... they diagnosed him as schizophrenic... he has dreams... the winter war, Aizen and hyo-... I'm not going to sit here and watch him fall apart! Screw what Yama-ji said I'm taking matters into my own hands... I'm serious... what was I doing?... I thought I felt an arrancar... you too? I'm going on patrol tonight. Keep an eye on him... please... yeah, yeah, I feel like I'm, babysitting half the time too... yeah, thanks... bye.

I slid away from the door clenching my fists. Ichigo knew a lot more than he let on and I would be damned if I didn't get him to spill it. For too long others had been making decisions for me. It was high time that I took matters into my own hands.

* * *

**I have no idea where all of that came from... I just love torturing Hyoka don't I?**

**Anyway, sorry it's been so long but tell me what you thought.^^**

**Again Merry Christmas... and maybe the seasone will inspire me to do another chapter before I have to go back to school more so if your generous with the reviews^^**

**-Mymomomo**


	14. Chapter 14

**Yes I know I deserve rotten fruit thrown at me. It's the usual excuse though, School. IB is not merciful in anyway, plus I signed up to be stage manager for the school musical so I literally have no free time now. **

**But to make it up I typed almost 15 pages in microsoft word worth of chapter, so please don't complain.**

**Also to my reviewers sooo sorry I didn't get back to you so I'll put all my replies in this author's note ^^**

**Thegirlwhowrites7865: Things aren't going to clear up for a long while (evil smirk)**

**Kaiser969: Merry very belated Christmas, and new year and every other holiday that has passed since then. And yeah Ichigo has a huge part to play in the story.**

**Demon2angel: Thanks, here you go!**

**Punk lolita23: you'll find out sooner or later, not giving away anything just yet**

**Librax: That will take a little while longer but I'm glad you're eager for it.**

**Etto1771: Your wish had been granted :)**

**Soaha: Yes about time too.**

**Scarlett Foxie: Haha. Actually that should be happening soon.**

**Azure blue espeon: That's the point of the story, so it's gonna happen.**

**keiriala: That news is going to be hard to swallow, but I have huge plans for Hyoka.**

**Snowecat: Done, done and done.**

**I apologise for the extra long delay again, enjoy!**

* * *

Ichigo stayed by my bed until he thought I fell asleep. There was no way I would be able to sleep tonight, but I didn't tell him that. He was trying to help; I didn't need to make things more difficult for him. Though, I had tried to ask him a few questions about the phone call without giving myself away. He just shot me a dry stare and told me to go to bed.

He didn't need to know that I didn't fall asleep that night. I spent the night tossing and jerking every time I almost drifted off into sleep. I kept on seeing the man dressed all in white sneering at me. It made my stomach churn. Several times I felt like I was going to throw up. When morning came and grey light seeped through the curtains I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed. I hunched over and rested my head in my arms. There was a slight pounding in my forehead and my eyes felt like I had rubbed them with coal. Not to mention that I felt almost too tired to move.

I don't know how long I sat like that but when next I looked up the grey of dawn had turned into the golden-yellow of mid-morning. Still, I could not bring myself to move. There was a soft knock on the door and it swung open.

"Morning, Hyōka." Ichigo called out as he entered the room. I didn't even have enough energy to turn my head to acknowledge him. He walked over to me and knelt down so he was looking up into my face. "You know, if you stare at the floor long enough it changes colour."

I blinked.

"Okay, what's wrong?"

"... Tired." I managed to mutter.

He rolled his eyes, "Then go back to sleep, genius, no one's forcing you to get up."

I shook my head. I couldn't sleep even if I tried.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

I held back a yawn, "Dreams."

His eyes widened a fraction before he looked away and stood up. "Come on, I'll make you some coffee."

...

It took me two cups of coffee and ice cold water over my face to wake up fully. My body was still slow to respond but I felt slightly refreshed. I dried my face in a towel and looked at myself in the mirror. I let out a puff of air that caused the mirror to fog momentarily. I looked paler than normal, and that was saying something. I looked like a ghost. The blue green veins that webbed out on my temples and dark purple circles under my eyes made my complexion seem even worse. The contrast was almost unbearable. I poked at the swollen skin under my eyes in disbelief. I knew for a fact that there had never been a time when I didn't have bags in some form, but this was the worse they had ever been. I tried to think back to the last time I had a full night's sleep. The memory escaped me. I blinked, this was the first time I had actually studied my reflection in a long time. I looked... scary. No wonder Mikami was always complaining. I sighed, I really needed to get some sleep; I was beginning to resemble a panda... a very frightening panda.

Minutes later I found myself in Ichigo's bedroom sitting at his desk chair glaring at him as he shuffled about changing the sheets on his bed.

"Well?" I huffed impatiently.

He glanced at me over his shoulder. "Well, what?"

"You promised you were going to tell me about what's going on."

He scratched his head. "I know."

"Well?"

"Give me a second."

"I gave you a whole freaking night!"

"Your impatience is going to be the death of you someday."

I rolled my eyes, "Just cut to the chase, Kurosaki, you know why I'm having these dreams, so spill."

He sat down on the newly made bed. "I don't know why-"

"Don't give me that crap."

He glared at me, "If you spoke to any other adult that way you would have been skinned alive."

"Stop trying to avoid the subject."

"What subject? I don't know what you want me to tell you."

"I must say, Kurosaki, that you play stupid very convincingly. "

"Ha ha, and you're a natural at the annoying brat part."

I breathed in deeply seeing that this wasn't going anywhere. Maybe I should take a different approach. I stared him directly in his eyes. "Fine, who the hell is Toushiro, then?"

His eyes widened. "Where did you hear that?"

"From you. And what do you mean by patrols, and arrancars and why are you able to fight hollows, and who is giving you orders?"

He was speechless. "How-"

"I'm not as stupid as you people take me for. When you suddenly disappear to make a phone call it doesn't take a genius to figure out why and who you're talking about. I want answers, Kurosaki. I know you know what's going on."

He gapped like a fish and stared at me. "You..." He trailed off with a sigh. "Fine I'll answer your questions. What do you want to know?"

I leaned back in the chair. Finally some cooperation. "First off, what are you exactly? I know that no one is just 'trained' to fight off ghosts."

"I... uh..." He hesitated. "I belong to this... organisation, whose job it is to protect regular people from hollows."

I raised an eyebrow. "An organisation? Really? Who started it? What's it called? Why haven't I heard of it before?"

"We try to keep our selves a secret."

"Hmm, so a bunch of people who can fight hollows decided to form a group to protect people who can't see ghosts. Why?"

"Because, how are people supposed to defend themselves against something they don't know is there?"

I cocked my head. It made sense if you believed in philanthropy. "So how do you fight them?"

"We developed weapons that purify the hollows."

"Weapons? You mean like guns, or bombs?"

"Swords."

"You fight monsters the size of buildings with swords? That must be very effective."

"More so than you think."

"Sure. Anyway, what are arrancars?"

"They're different types of hollows. We categorise them based on strength. The strongest ones are called arrancars."

"Why was one around here then?"

"I don't know. They usually don't show themselves very often. I'm still trying to figure it out."

"So can anyone learn how to fight hollows?"

"No, you need high enough spiritual pressure and... no. I know where you're going with this. No, I'm not teaching you how to fight hollows."

"Come on, Kurosaki. Why not, if you think about it, it makes sense. If I learnt how to protect myself then you wouldn't have such a difficult job."

"No, I'm not teaching you."

"Why not?"

"One; because you're way too young, two; your sister would kill me, three; you're like four feet tall, and four; it's dangerous. Besides I'm not allowed to incorporate living people-"

"Living people?"

"I meant-"

All of a sudden I felt something like a cold wave of realisation wash over me. It was like something had clunked into place in my head. My eyes widened a fraction and it was my turn to stare open mouthed at Ichigo.

"Shinigami..." I breathed. Everything had become blurry and my mind was churning around a million and one thoughts but I couldn't discern any of them. The air suddenly got a bit chilly, or it could have been my imagination, and I swear I heard somebody chuckling softly at the back of my mind. Shinigami? What the hell, that was an old folk story. Where the hell had that come from?

"What?" His voice was like hard steel.

"Shinigami." I repeated the words poured themselves from my mouth. The air got colder and I began to feel light headed. "You're a shinigami! I see it now, you purify corrupted souls and send them to the afterlife, you always seem to know when something is going wrong with me, you know a hell a lot about souls and it all makes sense, you're a shinigami -" I was cut off by a hand placed over my eyes. It seemed to draw all the energy in my body out. The room began to spin around me. The next thing I knew the floor was coming up to meet me and darkness was creeping in from the corners of my eyes. I must have blacked out because I don't remember hitting the floor.

...

I woke up feeling like I had had the best sleep in life. And compared with how I was feeling before this was a downright miracle. I wanted to open my eyes, but it just felt so good lying here feeling the most relaxed I had ever felt. I was about to stretch when two voices wafted back to me and I froze.

"Was that really necessary, Rukia?" I recognised Ichigo's voice instantly.

"Yes. Did you not feel his reiatsu? He would have attracted hollows for miles if I didn't do anything." The other voice was familiar, but I couldn't place it. It belonged to a woman but I couldn't remember who. It definitely wasn't Yuzu or Karin, she sounded more refined. I held my breath listening closely to the conversation.

"But he was remembering!"

"Only because you were prompting him. Did you forget what Yamamoto- Soutaicho said? You're not supposed to meddle with the process."

"Screw Yama-ji."

"You can't say that, Ichigo. And hush, he's waking up."

Damn it. I released the breath I was holding and slowly opened my eyes. Ichigo was leaning over me with a small grin on his face. "How're you feeling?"

I rubbed my eyes and sat up. "... Good." I said at length, "I'm not tired anymore. What happened?"

He scratched the back of his head and looked over his shoulder. I followed his gaze to a short woman standing off to the side. I blinked slowly, I _did _know her. She was small probably only about five feet with short black hair and violet eyes. She was looking at me with a bemused expression on her face. Apart from a very select few, she was one of the most attractive women I had even seen. And it bothered me that I couldn't remember where I knew her from. I should have remembered a woman like this even if I had just glimpsed her in passing. I frowned; I seemed to be having these memory lapses frequently now.

She smiled softly and moved next to Ichigo. "Hi, Hyōka, do you remember me?"

I raised my eyebrows. So I did know her. "I... um... kind of."

Ichigo snapped his head towards her. "Okay, and how was _that_ not a prompt?"

We both ignored him.

"I'm sorry, what's your name again?"

"Kuchiki Rukia."

My eyes, widened, "Oh, _you're_ Kurosaki's friend. I overhear him talking with you on the phone a lot."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "He has a bad habit of eavesdropping. We're working on that."

Rukia tilted her head as if considering something. "Do you remember where you know me from by any chance?"

I frowned. "I just told you. I heard you talking on the phone with him."

"But from nothing else?"

"I may have seen you in passing before." It was like she was trying to hint at something.

She nodded slowly. "And no where before that?"

I sighed, "Look, if you're trying to get me to remember something it isn't working. Just tell me how I know you then we'll both be happy." I really hated when people acted as if I was missing out on something and should have known what.

She seemed taken aback. "Never mind then."

I gritted my teeth. As pretty as this lady was she was beginning to get on my nerves with all this secrecy. And I wasn't about to be polite with someone who was annoying me, adult or not.

Ichigo saw the spark alight before I even opened my mouth. He shot me a warning glare. "Hyōka, if you say any-"

I ignored him as usual. "I suppose you're going to say it's no big deal, right? Well then, if it's 'no big deal' then why'd you knock me out? And interesting you'd do it when I was getting close to finding an answer."

Ichigo slapped his forehead. Rukia's jaw dropped and she stared at me with indignation before she turned to Ichigo. "I'm leaving; I've wasted enough time here and I'm late for the patrol." Within a minute she had left the room.

"It wouldn't have killed you to behave yourself for once, you know."

I raised an eyebrow. "You of all people should know I hate not knowing stuff."

"That's no excuse to be rude."

"What are you my father?"

He frowned. "You can't talk to people like that, especially not your elders. When next you see Rukia you're going to apologise."

"And what if I don't want to?"

His face took on a dangerous expression and his eyes sparkled demonically. "You are going to apologise."

I swallowed. With that expression on his face there was no telling what he would do to me.

...

Later that afternoon I sat in one of the waiting room chairs in the clinic flipping through a book Isshin had thrown my way, I mean literally thrown my way, as in at my face. Ichigo was working now and having nothing else to do I wandered into the clinic after him. He had abruptly ended our conversation and refused to answer any more of my questions saying that it was better if I didn't know some things. I told him I was going to find out anyway. And he wished me good luck, the bastard. My memories from the conversation, before Kuchiki had knocked me out were slightly hazy. I had called him a shi-... shit. I couldn't remember. I huffed in frustration. Just when I was finally getting somewhere she had to go and ruin it. Why were they so against me learning anything anyway? It wasn't like it was going to kill me. I remembered something about an organisation and him fighting hollows with a sword, but the rest was all jumbled up. And now that he was unwilling to take our conversation further, I would have to do some major snooping.

The clinic usually opened late on Sundays and Mikami only worked four hours then. She would be here soon and boy was I going to get it when she arrived. I should probably be mentally preparing myself for the tongue lashing I was in for. I was going to be grounded that was for sure and maybe put under house arrest. I don't think she would ever go so far as to hit me, I'd only been spanked when I was really young.

The door opened with a loud bang and I jumped from my seat ready to bolt from the room.

"Takemitsu Hyōka, where are you?" Mikami roared, marching up to the front desk. I shrunk into the wall trying to become invisible. Ichigo, was sitting at the desk dropped the file he had been going through in surprise.

"Wow, want to shout a little louder, Mikami, I don't think they heard you in Germany." The ginger man snapped rubbing his ears. "And he's right behind you."

She turned around her eyes flaming and strode across the room. I swallowed.

"You." She grabbed my arm pulling me towards her. "You are in so much trouble. What were you thinking?"

A smart person would have kept his mouth shut and let Mikami shout herself out. But she was verbally attacking me and I never took an attack lying down. I yanked my arm out of her grip. "I was thinking that you and Teito were being stupid."

She glared at me. "You thought that we were being stupid, when you just decided to run away last night because you didn't like what we said. I thought you were more mature than that, Hyōka. How do expect us to trust you or stop being so overbearing when you show such blatant disregard for your safety. You just prove time and time again, that you can't take care of yourself. "

"I can take care of myself."I sneered.

"So what, if you don't like something, you're just going to run away from it? Whatever you say, Hyōka, the way you handled the situation last night was very childish and until you show that you can act responsibly Teito and I will continue to treat you like a child."

I grit my teeth. She knew I hated to be called a child. I was smarter and more mature than anyone else in my age group. That was why I had been skipped a grade. "And maybe if you and Teito would listen to me, I wouldn't have to act this way."

"We listen to you, Hyōka. We take care of you and give you everything that you need."

"No, you don't listen to me. You listen to my doctors and assume I'm fucking crazy!"

"Don't use that language with me-"

"I can speak however I want, you're not the boss of me, you're not my mom, you're just a cranky nurse with a sister complex. So butt out of my life and leave me the hell alone!"

She stared at me with a slack jaw. The fire was gone from her eyes. She took a step back from me and slowly clenched her jaw. I knew I had done it now. Mikami was a tough person she had been through too much to not be tough. But there were these occasional comments that got to her. And right then I knew I had said one of them. I swallowed and looked away. I was supposed to be mad at her; I couldn't feel sorry at the same time. She needed to hear this; she needed to stop being so smothering all the time.

"Okay, Hyōka, since you obviously know what's best." She said then turned around.

I had never heard her use that tone of voice before. It sent shivers down my spine. I glanced at her back as she headed over to the front desk. It was barely noticeable but there was a slight droop to her shoulders. Ichigo, who had been sitting at the desk during our whole exchange, shot me an exasperated look. I turned away and plopped myself back down in my chair. Great that just meant that there was another person who was disappointed in me. I bit the inside of my cheek, why did things like this always happen to me?

...

A large beefy man with a beer belly and a scraggly beard marched into the clinic bodily dragging a boy by the upper arm. The door was slammed open with such force that I swore the glass broke. I glared at the pair but did a double take when I realised that the boy was Adachi. The left side of his jaw was swollen to the size of a baseball and there was a large piece of blood soaked gauze on his temple. His father dragged him right past me and to the front desk. Ichigo was going through some files but dropped everything – again – when he saw Adachi. He went through the regular doctor procedures asking what happened and so on. Mikami was in the back room, I don't think she even wanted to look at me right now.

I stood rooted to the spot watching as everything went on. Adachi was silent; he stared at the floor and scuffed his shoes a bit. I had seen him like this before; he was either scared or nervous. His father on the other hand was furious. He muttered something about a skateboarding accident. Ichigo's scowl deepened it was obvious that the man was lying. Adachi had gone from looking at his shoes to glancing around the room. And for a split second our eyes met. I could have sworn that he didn't look at me with utter hate that time. He looked... humiliated in a strange way. His eyes flicked away and Ichigo ushered them to the back room. I watched the door swing shut for some reason with a sinking feeling in my stomach. I don't know why but I felt scared for Adachi. I couldn't even being to wrap my mind around what it would be like to be treated that way at home. I could smell the alcohol and cigarettes on his father's breath all the way from here. Adachi may be been a total pig but he did not deserve to be beaten around by a foster parent. I ground my teeth together and sat back down, my eyes glued to the door. I hope Ichigo was giving the man a piece of his mind. The ginger was brash enough to do so and was more tactless than anything.

It took about thirty minutes before Adachi emerged from the room with a clean bandage on his temple holding an ice-pack to his cheek. His father pushed him over to the chairs where I was sitting while he went through some papers with Ichigo. He sat down across from me and hunched over. I watched him closely wanting to say something but not knowing where or how to start.

"What do you want, Takemitsu? Stop staring at me." He snapped his words were heavily slurred.

"Did he break anything?" I was shocked at my question. Why was I even concerned?

He raised an eyebrow, "No. Why do you even care?"

I shrugged. I didn't even know the answer to that question. "Because I can't just sit around when someone I know is being abused-" I cut myself off. Where the hell had that come from?

Adachi turned to face me. "You don't even like me."

"I hate you. But even you don't deserve this."

"I..." he paused and sat back in the chair. He cocked his head and looked at me as though he was just seeing me for the first time. After a few minutes he hung his head. "I'm sorry about the other day. On the roof I didn't mean to go that far."

I blinked. He was... apologising? I knew it, he wasn't the bully type. He only acted tough. That was why he always seemed so uncomfortable when he got into trouble. It was all a big act. But why? Why go through all that trouble to make my life hell if he wasn't the type to do it?

"I-it's... alright. There was no way you could have known about my condition." I awkwardly tried to comfort him.

"Condition?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I have acute altophobia-"

"What's that?"

I sighed, "I'm deathly afraid of heights, I get panic attacks sometimes."

His eyes widened. "Shit. I only meant to scare you a little. I was just angry that you told on me. You looked like you were having a seizure or something, it was freaky."

I shot him a glare. "You know, you don't seem like a bully. I've seen bullies before, they don't apologise to the people they beat up. And they definitely wouldn't be talking to me right now."

He broke eye contact and went back to staring at the floor. He muttered, "That's how people expect me to act."

"I don't understand, if that's not who you are then why do you put on such an act?"

"I didn't expect you to understand. Why would you understand, you're rich, you have nothing to worry about, you have a good home and parents who love you." His eyes flashed and I swore I saw a bit of jealousy in them. So, that was what he thought of me.

I shook my head. "I don't. You don't know me Adachi, so don't presume anything."

He snorted. "Just look at the way you act, like you're better than everyone else. Don't lecture me on not knowing anybody."

I clenched my jaw. He was so narrow minded. "Do you want to know why I moved from Tokyo? My older sister lost her job and we were living off the minimum wage for a police officer for almost five months. I was bullied so badly when I was younger because of how I look that I would have almost committed suicide if my sister didn't stop me. I live with my older sister and brother because my parents died; my mother when I was five and my father before I was even born. He was shot on the job by some thug who thought it would be cool to run into the police station and kill as many cops as he could. My mother was murdered in our apartment right in front of me. I've been through a lot, so sorry if I put on airs." When I finished I was breathing deeply and my throat hurt slightly. I clenched my jaw and willed myself not to tear up. I had never told anyone that much about me. Ariwa and Kasai didn't even know that much. I sat in shock, what had I just done... why the hell would I have rambled on like that. It was none of his business.

Adachi was speechless we sat staring at each other for almost five minutes. He put down the ice pack and ran his hand through his hair. We both sat in silence for a while. Talk about awkward. I had just basically poured out my soul to the guy who was bullying me for the better part of three months. This was so not my day.

He looked at me in a strange way. "Sorry. If I had known then I wouldn't have..."

"Stop, you don't want my pity and I don't want yours. Just stop with the facade."

"Facade?"

"Act. Stop with the tough guy act. No one likes bullies."

He snorted. "I know, but it's better than getting close to people and have them snooping up in my business. At least like this people stay away from me."

"If you told someone about this," I indicated his face, "they could get you out of that house."

"And I could end up in some place worse and trust me I've been in worse places. Most of the time he's half decent. He may beat me, but it's only when he's angry or drunk."

"And you're okay with that?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

He cocked his head and opened his mouth but snapped it shut when his father suddenly slapped a hand on his shoulder.

"It's time to go, Kouta. Tell your friend goodbye."

Adachi tensed. He put the icepack back on his face and slowly stood up. He stepped away from the man and turned towards me. "I'll see you in school."

I nodded. "And try not to get into any fights this weekend. The teachers will notice if you come to school with more bruises." I said this as a warning to his father. Adachi shook his head and his father nudged him over to the door.

I leaned back in the chair watching them go. I really hoped that Adachi was taking Ichigo up on the offer to see him if anything went wrong. He wasn't a tough guy, it was sad that he acted this way. I wondered what kind of situation he would have to be in to act like such an asshole at school. Maybe he was afraid of what the others would say if they found out that he was a foster child. I knew from firsthand experience that people could be mean.

"So you two weren't fighting, I take that as a good sign." I jumped a mile. Ichigo just chuckled. "What were you two talking about?"

"Nothing."

He sighed and sat in the seat next to me. "He can see ghosts, he told me the other day. He came over yesterday, to talk. He's a nice kid Hyōka, once you get past a few layers. You two should learn to get along."

"He started it. He tripped me and I fell down a flight of stairs. It's not funny Kurosaki."

"I wasn't laughing. Anyway, this isn't why I want to talk to you. What you said to Mikami, that wasn't nice. You should apologise. She does more for you than you even know, Hyōka. Maybe you should try to see it from her eyes for a change."

"She smothers me."

"She's your older sister."

"She's not my mother."

"She might as well be."

I frowned. Okay, sometimes, I'll admit, that she really felt like my mom. But, I hated all the smothering. I needed my own room to grow. And well frankly Mikami was trying to keep me in an isolated little bubble where she thought noting could touch me. No matter how much I tried to convince her that I was well enough to take on the normal functioning of a human life she thought otherwise. I was twelve yet she treated me like I was four. I turned away from Ichigo.

"She's not my mother." I repeated, "So she should stop acting like it."

He shook his head and sighed. "You want to be treated like an adult but you can't even tell the difference between when someone wants to help you and when someone's suffocating you. And trust me right now you're going to need all the help you can get."

* * *

**Horrible ending? I know. The next chapter should be out some time next month, during March break, That also means that I've been working on this story for a year now! Wow, time really does fly...**

**Oh and on an end note, if you don't like my story you don't have to review, you're just wasting both of our time. **

**But if you do like it or want to offer some constructive critisim then don't hesitate to review.**

**-Mymomomo**


	15. Chapter 15

**This is a recent record for me^^ so there's been a lull in the amount of assignments and hw so I took advantage of it and here is the result :)**

**Thanks to all the people who reviewed. And here's where the excitements starts! **

* * *

Mikami and I didn't say a word to each other that night in fact we hadn't talked in three days. The tension in the apartment was unbearable at best. Teito had tried to placate us but had given up after the first day and left us to ourselves. I had barely seen him at all these past few days. He said that he had been busy at the station, but I knew it was just that he didn't want to deal with Mikami and me. The only good thing to come out of this though, was that since Mikami left me to my own devices and Teito took recluse at the station there was no one around to enforce my punishment. I had been 'grounded' per say but I never had more freedom in my life. However, I never would have guessed that the feeling that came along with it would be so terrible. I felt like I had disappointed everyone I cared about. I didn't let anyone on to this of course, I was never wrong. But still... I wondered if this was how criminals felt like.

This was the first day in ages that I was home early from school. I didn't have to stop by the clinic after school and I didn't have to wait on anyone to finish work. I felt relaxed in an odd way. I showered, ate a light snack and settled down to do my homework. The apartment was eerily quiet so I put on some head phones and cranked my i-pod up to full blast. I had a lot of work to do, I was still behind the rest of the class and the teachers kept on pilling up on the homework. I had to read two chapters in history, finish three maths work sheets, do a geography project and an essay for literature. And that wasn't even half of it. I sighed and pulled out a pencil from my desk drawer.

I had finished the reading and moved on to the geography when I heard Teito calling my name over the music. I frowned, when had he come home? I yanked off the head phones and poked my head out of the room.

"When did you come home?"

He was sitting on the couch going through some report or other. "Around an hour ago Wednesdays are my half days, remember? I didn't want to disturb you. Anyway, Kazu and Chou are in the kitchen waiting for you."

I nodded and trotted over to the kitchen.

"I thought you two were busy this afternoon." I stated as I leaned against the sink.

Ariwa shrugged, "Rei went over by some friends so I don't have to baby sit anymore, Chou just followed me here."

"What, it's better than doing homework." She rolled her eyes.

"Actually..." I thought of the numerous projects on my desk.

"Well you're a nerd, everyone knows that."

"I am not."

She raised an eyebrow, "How far along are you in that novel for literature? You know the one we got last week."

I rolled my eyes. "That doesn't have to do with anything-"

"How far are you?"

I folded my arms across my chest. "I finished it."

"It's 400 pages. I rest my case."

Ariwa chuckled.

"What, do you guys know how much work I have to do to catch up with the rest of the class? I can't afford to fall behind anymore than this."

We moved the conversation to my bedroom after a while. They were still convinced that I was a nerd but I had managed to stare the conversation in a different direction after making an offhand comment about getting my cast off yesterday. Our conversation took a turn to randomness afterwards.

"The winter festival is coming up." Kasai said casually. "I'm the head of the organising committee in my class. We're going to do a joint play with all the grade eight classes. The teachers like the idea as well."

"A play?" Ariwa echoed, "Which one?"

"Macbeth, by Shakespeare. We want the festival to be culturally diverse, we're even going to have French and German food booths and we're selling games from Italy. Auditions are next week, you two should tryout."

Awiraw laughed. "Yeah right. Can you imagine _me _on a stage? The soccer team would never let me live it down."

She turned to me. "Hyōka?"

"No. I have way too many things on my plate right now."

"But you'll do well. I've seen you act."

"When?"

"That time I dragged you to improv club, remember?"

I rolled my eyes. "That was two months ago."

"So? I'll put you down to audition for the lead."

"No!"

"It'll be fun, come on."

"I don't want to."

"I'm putting you down anyway."

I sighed. Honestly where did she think I would find the time to do a play? I was literally swamped with school work, not to mention the music club was being extra demanding lately, plus I had sessions with Hagino. Also I had been trying to find out everything about this organisation Ichigo said he belonged to.

"So," Ariwa cut in before Kasai and I could really get at it. "What's up with you and Adachi? He hasn't done anything to you lately."

Surprisingly, he hadn't tried anything with me for the past three days. He had even politely said hi to me on a few occasions.

I shrugged. "He grew a brain I guess." They didn't need to know what I had told him in the clinic.

A few minutes later Teito poked his head through the door. "Kazu, your mother called she wants you to come home now. I would offer to drive you but I'm off duty, so I don't have the car. I can walk you home if you want."

He nodded in thanks. Kasai said that she should be heading home as well. Her father didn't like her staying out late either.

"In that case, Hyōka get your jacket. I'm not leaving you here by yourself."

...

Teito being the nice person he was after we dropped off Ariwa decided to walk Kasai home as well. I didn't complain. The town could be dangerous at night especially since she had to pass through the shopping district then next to an old, abandoned construction site.

We were walking in relative silence each of us mulling around things in our minds. The street we were walking down was deserted. I guess everyone was home already, plus this was not a frequently traveled route. So when the air suddenly became harder to take in I noticed instantly. It was like the atmosphere had condensed and was trying to push us into the ground. A hollow was somewhere around. I tried to take deep, long breaths and glanced around for any sign of it. Teito looked as though he noticed it as well. His right arm had found its way under his jacket, where I knew he kept his gun. Kasai, couldn't sense hollows, as far as I knew, but her breathing was slightly haggard. I glanced at Teito; his eyes were scanning the area.

Kasai motioned us to turn into the construction site. "There's a short cut through here." We followed. As soon as we set foot through the orange plastic dividing blocks there was a blur of white and cloud of dust and snow enveloped us. I felt Teito grab me and tuck me into his side. When the dust settled he stood up straight and pushed me behind him.

Right in front of us was a man dressed all in white. I swallowed, not again. I felt my heart rate begin to speed up. In front of us was a humanoid creature almost as tall as Teito. He had shoulder length dark hair and eyes the colour of molten lava. What looked like a porcelain mask covered the right side of his face. He wore pristine white hakama and long sleeved white jacket that was left open to show his chest. His torso was knotted with muscles but what drew my attention was a black hole about the size of his fist right where his heart should have been. He was a hollow; an arrancar if I put together what Ichigo had told me. My throat seized up when I saw he held Kasai close to him by her throat. She was unconscious from what I could tell.

Teito had pulled out his gun and was aiming it at the hollow's head. "Put the girl down." He ordered.

It laughed. "How about we make a trade. You hand him over and you get the keep the girl. It doesn't seem fair that you get two of them. Hmmm?"

My breath caught in my chest. It wanted... me?

"I'll say it one more time. Put the girl down."

"I don't think so."

Teito reached back and shoved me further behind him. "When I shoot I want you to run. Run as far away from here as you can." He whispered.

"But Chou-"

"I'll get her. You need to get out of here."

The gun shot was deafening and I stumbled over my feet as I ran. I heard the hollow shout in pain but I didn't look back to see what happened. I was back on the sidewalk after that. My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my ears. I wasn't sure if it was from the exertion or from the fact that I was running for my life.

"Nice try."

I crashed right into the hollow's chest and scrambled backwards but he grabbed me by my arm and lifted me up off the ground. I felt his claw like nails dig into my skin and my shoulder screamed in protest at having to support my entire weight.

"Let go of me you bastard!" I yelled. I kicked at his side but I might as well have been kicking a brick wall. He didn't even flinch.

"I don't know why master is even bothering with you. You look weaker than all the hollows I've seen."

Teito came running up to us holding Kasai over his shoulder. My eyes widened, he was bleeding heavily from a gash running from the base of his neck to the middle of his chest. The hollow snarled.

"If you use that thing one more time, I won't hesitate to use him as a shield." He shook me roughly and I swore I felt something pop in my shoulder. I noticed that his other arm was hanging limply by his side and the white sleeve was soaked with red.

Teito ground his teeth at the hollow's words. "Put him down."

"I think we've been through this before." He growled and when Teito aimed his gun he threw me over his shoulder, his sharp bones jarring my stomach. I punched and kicked as hard as I could. Just then there was another gunshot and I felt the hollow flinch in panic. I took advantage of the momentary confusion and pushed hard against his shoulder managing to weaken his hold a bit. My punches and kicks had no effect on him and, well, in a situation like this safety comes before hygiene. I bit down on his exposed neck as hard as I could. I felt the skin break and warm blood pooled into my mouth. I resisted the urge to gag at the metallic taste. The hollow hissed sharply and yanked my head away from his neck. All of a sudden I was flying through the air and just as suddenly I landed hard on the ground a few feet away from him. I spat out the blood from my mouth and coughed a few times. Instantly Teito was over me. The hollow turned to us sneering. With speed faster than either of us could follow he knocked the gun from Teito's hand and grabbed the front of his shirt. Then there was a glint of steel and the hollow reared back hollering. The hand that held onto Teito's shirt was no longer attached to its body. Teito ripped the severed limb away from him and threw it to the side, while the hollow was suddenly chopped in two and disintegrated in to the air.

We both stared at the petite black haired woman who was now sheathing her sword. "You okay?" She asked turning to us.

"Who are you?" Teito gapped.

"Kuchki Rukia, my associate." Our heads snapped in the other direction to see Ichigo striding up to us with what looked like a giant meat cleaver in his hands. "Sorry we took so long."

"What the hell is going on here?"

...

"Welcome to the Urahara shop!"

I almost turned around and high tailed it right out of there but Ichigo's hand clamped on my shoulder prevented me from moving. He must have known that the creepy man in a striped bucket hat would make me want to run away. The way he smiled at me made me feel uneasy kind of like when Ichigo looked at me sometimes. I got this weird feeling of déjà vu but I knew I had never seen this man before. I had never come into this part of the town.

"Well don't just stand there come in, come in." He waved a fan at us and ushered us inside the small building. There were shelves and boxes full of candy and other weird things. It probably would have been a nice shop had I visited it in any other situation but this.

The weird man led us through the shop into what I presumed was his home and had us sit around a small round table while he left the room saying he would make some tea. We had brought Kasai home. Rukia had used this kind of pen-looking thing on her and said that she would not remember anything about the hollow attack afterwards and her father would not remember us brining her home unconscious. This organisation was big on secrecy that was for sure. Teito and I sat uncomfortably on the floor while Ichigo and Rukia sent each other strange looks.

A few moments later the weird guy in the striped hat returned trailed by a huge dark man with glasses and braided hair. I glanced at Teito but all he did was put a hand on my shoulder. Only after a while I realised that this man was wearing an apron and carrying a tray with cups and a tea pot. This day was just getting weirder and weirder. When we all had a cup of tea in front of us the man in the hat looked right at me and smiled.

"I was wondering when you were going to come, Hyōka."

A cold shiver shot down my spine and I stared at the man with wide eyes. "H-how do you know my name?"

"I know lots of things. Like why you're here now."

I glanced at Teito again.

"Who are you? And what is going on?" Teito spat out through a clenched jaw. I could tell he was getting annoyed with all these antics.

"I'm Urahara Kisuke, and as for what is going on, well that's a whole other story which I'm not sure we have the time for at the moment."

Teito frowned, "You better tell me what's going on right now. We were attacked by some sort of monster and a little girl could have got killed! This is not the time to be keeping secrets."

"You're, hurt." Kisuke noted, completely ignoring Teito's last sentence. He turned to the dark man who had brought in the tea. "Tessai will you handle this?"

With a nod he got up and moved over to Teito. Teito gave him a warning glance but allowed him to exam the cut on his chest. I could tell that he was on edge his right arm kept on twitching towards his holster. I didn't blame him, I was ready to run myself, if things got weird. Kisuke's smile gave me the creeps. Tessai held his hand up to Teito's chest. He raised an eyebrow and was about to scoot away from him when Tessai's hand began to glow a green colour. I froze; my eyes going wide. What the hell was this?

Teito shoved Tessai away and was on his feet in an instant. "What the fuck was that? Don't you fucking touch me with that!"

"Calm down, Teito-kun, Tessai's not going to hurt you."

Teito glanced over at Kisuke with a snarl on his face. "His hand was fucking green. You tell me what's going on right this damn minute."

"I see where you get your temper from, Hyōka." Ichigo muttered under his breath. "It's healing kido." He explained.

"Kido?" Teito raised an eyebrow.

"It's like a...spell-"

"Are you fucking serious? Do you expect me to believe that? Come on Hyōka, these people have nothing to say to us."

He moved to grab my arm but I pulled away. "Wait." That word; kido, I knew it. Well, I did know it, it was a word, but I knew about it albeit very vaguely. "Demon arts; kido, right?"

It looked like Ichigo was trying to dislocate his neck the way he turned to look at me. "You know about kido?"

"A little, I probably read about it long ago. I don't remember much." I saw Kisuke smirk from the corner of my eyes.

Teito blinked, "Demon arts? Are you serious?" He sighed dramatically and sat back down. "If I didn't have proof that ghosts really exist I would be gone by now. Fine go ahead let's see if you're lying or not."

Tessai put his hands back up to Teito's chest and they started to glow again. Right before all of our eyes Teito's skin stitched itself up. Muscle weaved itself back together and skin tissue melted into one. When Tessai removed his hand there was no indication that Teito was even hurt in the first place. There was no scar no discolouration, there was just nothing at all. If it wasn't for his shirt which was ripped and soaked in blood I wouldn't have been able to tell what had been there just moments before. Teito was astonished he rolled his shoulder and brought his hand up to feel the area the wound had been.

He turned to Tessai, "H-how..."

"Kido," Kisuke spoke up, "uses reiatsu, or energy per say, to speed up the healing process. All Tessai had to do was to channel your energy to the site of the wound and voila, you're as good as new. Handy isn't it?"

"Thanks."

He waved his hand. "It's no problem. Now we can get down to the reason why we're all gathered here."

Teito rolled his eyes, "Which brings us back to my original question; who are you?"

"Me? I'm just a storekeeper. You really should be asking Ichigo and Rukia over here."

He turned on them. "Well, are you going to explain or not?"

Ichigo heaved a huge sigh and started going off about hollows and how to differentiate them from one another he also spoke a little about his 'organisation'. "That's the fifth arrancar we've seen this week."

"Fifth!" Teito exclaimed

"Yeah, I've been running around like crazy." Now that he mentioned it Ichigo did look more tired than usual lately. I felt slightly guilty; he'd been running around trying to stop them from getting to me.

"You said they're uncommon, so why have so many arrancars been showing up here. They have to be drawn to something, here." Teito concluded.

Ichigo glanced at Rukia who in turn glanced to Kisuke. The blond man covered his mouth with his fan and turned to me.

"They are being drawn to something, Teito-kun, and that thing happens to be your brother."

"What? Why? What's so special about Koko-chan?"

"That is a very long story and quite frankly this is not the time for it. But I can tell you that he's very special in fact a bit too special for his own good-"

Rukia cut him off, "None of that is confirmed yet. You have no right to be blurting out all this information Kisuke."

He smirked, "Not confirmed yet? Fine then. Hyōka, let's play a little game."

I raised an eyebrow. "A game? This hardly seems like the time for games. And just how old do you think I am? Despite how I look I'm-"

"I know you're twelve years old. You were born on January twelfth in Tokyo at the Kobayashi General Hospital to an Amaya and Isamu Takemitsu. Now humour me, please."

I stared at him how did he know this much about me? He took my expression as a sign to continue.

"So I'm going to say a word and I want you to tell me the first thing that comes to mind. Let's start; Soul Society."

"Kisuke! That's too much, Captain Unohana said that-"

"She's a doctor... medic." The image of a hospital flashed through my head.

Rukia clapped her hands over her mouth her eyes going wide. Ichigo's eyebrows had shot up to his hair line and Kisuke smirked.

"That wasn't exactly what I was going for but it's good enough. Okay next word: Gotei thirteen."

Flashes of people in black uniforms passed through my mind. I blinked them away. It was creepy and sent this weird feeling down my spine. "Army." I muttered.

"Ten."

"Duty..." I suddenly felt guilty. It was like a stab in the stomach as if I had left someone behind never to see them again. But I also felt an overwhelming sense of responsibility. I blinked and began to feel light headed.

"Zanpakuto."

"...Soul." I saw red serpentine eyes and then everything started to blur. I clutched my head. These words were utter nonsense, but somehow I was able to put meaning to them.

"Hyōka, are you alright?" Teito asked softly.

I nodded. "Sudden, headache." I explained.

"Just a few more and then we're done." Kisuke went on. "Shinigami."

My head snapped up to meet Kisuke's gaze. His smirking eyes gave nothing away. "Go on."

"I..." I felt an aching cold seep through my bones and all of a sudden I was running along a dirt road with a strawberry blond woman in black clothes at my side, behind me were ten or fifteen men and women similarly dressed. I turned to the blond woman and she shot me a dazzling smile. I blinked and it felt as if my brain had been fried. The coffee table we were sitting around had dissolved into the floor and everyone who was in the room blended into the walls. I only realised then that I was having trouble breathing, and it was so cold it was painful.

"Kisuke!" Someone exclaimed, "This is going to far look; at him!"

"Just one more. Hyōka, what do you think when I say, Aizen."

The man in white with the annoying brown hair flashed through my mind and I was scared. He laughed an insane, maniacal laugh and a sharp searing pain cut through my chest. I clutched at the front of my shirt and doubled over in pain. Small, hot tears formed in the corners of my eyes, and my breath caught in my throat. I coughed and hacked but it felt like I was being strangled. I heard commotion going on around me but it was all from a distance. _He's having a panic attack! _ I grit my teeth together, the man's laughter was still echoing in my head. My stomach turned and I felt like I was going to throw up. Shivers racked my body but I wasn't sure whether I was scared or just cold. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to find a way out of the panic. But it was like I was a mouse scrabbling at the sides of a seamless, black cage. I wanted to scream but I couldn't get my lungs to corporate.

Somewhere far away I felt someone pick me up. I felt threads of warm pressure drift back to me and I tried to hold on to them. I pictured myself grabbing on to them with my hands and holding them tight. Soon the scared feeling ebbed away and I found that I could breathe freely again. When I opened my eyes I found myself lying on my back staring up at four concerned faces. Ichigo was holding my hand in both of his and my head was resting in his lap. Teito was right next to him his eyes wide with worry. Rukia and Kisuke were off to one side the later sat with a knowing smirk on his face. I growled softly, this man knew way too much for my liking, especially since he didn't seem like one to share.

"Koko-chan?" Teito asked apprehensively.

I turned to him. "I'm fine." I ignored the dull aching in my chest and slowly sat up.

Ichigo let go of my hand and helped me to sit up. He turned to Kisuke. "What the hell was that? What did you do?"

"Me?" He asked innocently, "I didn't do anything. It was all Hyōka. If I'm right he remembered a few things."

Remembered? Those were... memories? They couldn't be, I had never done any of those things. I had never met either that blond woman or brown haired man and I had never in my life seen people in those black unifor- my gaze drifted to Ichigo and Rukia. I really was an idiot, the black uniforms; they were wearing them. I suddenly got the feeling that this whole thing with the hollows was bigger than I could possibly imagine. The organisation Ichigo belonged to; this meant that I was connected to it somehow.

I turned to Kisuke. "This... Aizen person... he's the one who's sending the arrancars after me, isn't he?"

The blond man stroked his chin. "Perceptive as always, I see. But yes. I'm not quite sure myself, what Aizen is planning, but you seem to be a part of it."

"Wait; hold up, who the hell is Aizen?" Teito exclaimed almost jumping up from where he was sitting. "Are you telling me that there is someone after, my brother?"

"He's-"

"I'm sorry Kisuke, but the Head-captain has forbid us to disclose-"

"No. This involves Hyōka so you better tell me what's going on now." Teito hissed through a clenched jaw. "Who the fuck is Aizen?"

"He's right, Rukia, they deserve to know." Ichigo sighed. I could tell he was intimidated by Teito's behavior.

"But Yamamoto-"

"Has made wrong decisions before." Kisuke grinned. "In short Aizen Sosuke, is a lunatic with a god complex. "

Teito's eyes bulged. "What? So why don't we do anything about him?"

"Believe me we've been trying to for the past thirteen years. He's not only crazy, but he's powerful."

I felt my stomach sink. There was actually a lunatic after me. I didn't even know how to wrap my brain around that one.

"Why does he want Hyōka?"

Kisuke sighed, "That's a story for another time. As I said before, you're brother's special."

"What do we do then? How can we keep him safe?"

Ichigo spoke up. "We'll do as much as we can. I'm not going to let Aizen get his hands on Hyōka, and that's a promise."

"Thank you Ichigo, but there's, what, three of you. How can you possibly stand up against a man who if I understand correctly has an army of arrancars under his control. I appreciate the gesture but I don't see how this is going to help. We need to take out Aizen and we need to do it fast."

"That's what we've been trying to do."Rukia snapped. "That arrancar you saw this afternoon was a small fry barely even a foot soldier. We can keep them from getting to Hyōka but to take out Aizen we may as well start another war."

Teito huffed. "What does it take to beat these arrancars, then?"

Rukia narrowed her eyes. "You mean you want to fight alongside with us?"

"Yes. Koko-chan's safety is my priority."

"Have you ever fought a hollow before?"

He nodded.

"How?"

He reached into his jacket and pulled out his hand gun. Kisuke instantly perked up.

"Can I see that?" he asked.

Teito slid it across the table to him and he picked it up like a child with a present on Christmas morning.

"Have you ever used a gun before?" Teito asked raising an eyebrow when he saw Kisuke begin to pull play with the magazine compartment. He had managed to pull out the bullets in a matter of minutes and was examining one between his thumb and index finger.

"Nope, this is the first time I've seen one up close."

Teito's eyes widened comically. "Give it back!"

"Interesting, I can sense traces of your reiatsu on these."

"Which means?" Ichigo prompted.

"Which is why a human weapon has an effect on the arrancars. He can channel his reiatsu to the bullets. It's similar to how a Qunicy makes their arrows. Interesting how you are able to do this without having someone to teach you. But still if you're serious about learning how to fight then you'll need us to show you. Whenever you're free from work drop by so we can begin your lessons."

"Can I come?" I asked. It was worth a shot. If Teito could learn how to fight then I should be able to as well.

"No." The answer came from both Teito and Kisuke.

I scowled, "Why not?"

"Because little one," Kisuke smirked, "this class is for adults."

...

The sun had long set by the time we made a move to leave. I stood outside waiting for Teito. Kisuke had insisted that he find him a new shirt. I leaned against the wall and stared up at the sky. I tried not to think about the fact that a lunatic was after me but there was some satisfaction in the fact that I had proved to Teito that I was not schizophrenic. I had found out more in that meeting than I had in three months of snooping around. So Ichigo and Rukia really were shinigami, I never would have guessed that they really did exist. But then again so did ghosts and hollows, it made sense for something to balance them off to exist as well. A sudden cold breeze caused me to shiver, but if they were shinigami, where did that leave me? I knew they were still hiding something about me, but now I had something to go on. I wandered if the libraries would have anything on shimigami maybe I could find a few good websites as well.

"You okay?" Ichigo suddenly slid up beside me. He always seemed to know the exact time when I would be deepest in thought.

"Yeah."

"You sure? You were really quiet this afternoon. I thought you'd have more to say."

I shrugged. "It hasn't really sunk in yet. It's kinda hard to wrap my brain around the fact that there's a madman out to get me."

He sighed. "When I said I'm not going to let him get to you I meant it. And I don't make empty promises."

"I don't deny the fact that you won't try. But why me? What makes me so special?"

He sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "As much as I really want to tell you, Hyōka, I can't. I'm not even completely sure of the reason myself."

"Urahara seemed pretty sure." I scoffed.

"He gives the impression of being sure of everything."

"Ichigo?"

"Hmm?"

"You said there was already a war between the shinigami and Aizen twelve years ago. What happened? I mean you obviously didn't lose since we're all still here but neither did Azien since he's still a problem. So what happened?"

He sighed. "I did."

"Is that all you're gonna tell me?"

"Right now, yes. I think you've gotten enough information for one day. Curiosity did kill the cat."

"But satisfaction brought it back."

He rolled his eyes, then suddenly turned to me with a huge goofy grin on his face. "Hey!"

I edged away from him. "Hey what?"

"You called me by my first name!"

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did."

"It was a mistake."

He just grinned, "I think I'm starting to grow on you."

I groaned and rubbed my forehead. I think that he was right.

* * *

**And of course a little humor to finish things off. Heh, funny how it took me 15 chapters to finally get things going huh? But now the ball is rolling it's not gonna stop for a while now :) And yes I realised that Hyoka didn't react much in this chapter but in his defense he does tend to mull things over quite a bit. I wanted it to seem like he was too shocked to do anything. And how was Urahara? As much fun as he seems, he's a pain to write for... hope I was able to do him justice. **

**Anyway feel free to leave comments, I'm happy to hear them.**

**- Mymomomo**


	16. Chapter 16

**I did promise at least three chapters during March break so here goes. **

**Also while I still have your attention take a look at this. I joined this movement called Kony 2012 and its to stop the use of child soldiers in Uganda Africa. The organisation Invisible Children did a presentation at my school, they're not asking people to donate money for the cause all they're asking is to spread the word. I think that's reasonable. **

**So just take a couple minutes out of your day and go to Kony 2012 . com **

* * *

"_Captain, behind you!"_

_I spun around and ducked as a huge arm struck the area where my head had been a few seconds earlier. I sent a grateful nod towards Matsumoto and slashed my sword in an upwards stroke effectively cutting the deformed monster in front of me in half. It had barely disintegrated into thin air when two more had taken its place. I drew in an exasperated breath. I had no idea how long I had been fighting these hollows for but it was long enough for my arms and legs to go numb from exertion. Thankfully they were just standard hollow, if they had been anything stronger, even adjuchas I would have been done for by now. This was the most hollows I had ever seen in one place in my whole life, though. I slashed, swiped, jabbed, did every movement possible with my sword. But there seemed to be no end to the onslaught of hollows. What I needed was a mass attack, something that could get rid of hundreds of them at once. I readied myself and concentrated. I took a deep breath and released my zanpakuto. A dragon made of ice went flying from the tip of my weapon and several hollows were frozen in their tracks for a split second before shattering into a thousand shards. I glanced around the battle field my men were fighting with all they had but it was clear that all of us were spent. I wracked my mind trying to think of a way out of this one but there was no solution to this. I needed to get my men out of here and I needed to do it fast._

"_Where are the reinforcements? We sent for them nearly an hour ago?" I snarled as I decapitated the hollow in front of me._

"_They must be held up elsewhere, the eighth was supposed to take over." Matsumoto growled back. She was literally a flash of blonde and pink. _

"_The men can't take much more of this."_

"_I know, Captain."_

"_Call retreat."_

"_But Captain-"_

"_We can't keep this up; get the men out of here. I've already lost seven reiatsu signatures; I'm not risking anymore lives."_

"_You can't fight all of these hollows by yourself."_

"_I'll use bankai, now go."_

"_No, it's still too much for you to handle."_

"_It's my job."_

"_And it's mine to stand behind you."_

"_That was a direct order, Matsumoto, get everyone to safety."_

_Her eyes flashed and she clenched her jaw. As lawless as she could be sometimes, I knew that she would never refuse a direct order. "Fine. I'll be back in a minute."_

_She shunpoed away and I could hear the word retreat being echoed around the battle field. Once I saw that everyone was gone I held my zanpakuto in front of me. I lunged right into the midst of the battle with a raw yell._

"_Bankai-"_

"_You're pathetic. Did you really think you could defeat me?" Suddenly everything around me changed. Instead of swarms of hollows surrounding me there was open sky and a few arrancars. _

_I gasped and clutched my hand to my chest where the hilt of his zanpakuto was pressed. I lifted my head to glare daggers at the traitor. His brown eyes were sparkling was laughter and self assurance. How I wished I could wipe that smirk off his face once and for all. A low growl tore through my throat and a trickle of blood dripped down my chin. Red hot pain inched outwards from my chest, but I tried my best to ignore it and continued to glare at him._

"_I've always admired you," Aizen grinned, "how you're able to look anyone in the eye like this, even in the face of death, it's almost unnerving as if you're seeing through my very soul. A will that can never be broken... hmm?" He twisted the sword. I bit my lip trying not to yell out in pain. "Too bad all this bravery, as you so call it, will never be useful in the long run."_

"_B-bast-t-tard. You will pay for what you did, for everyone you killed." I managed to stammer as blood dripped out of my mouth._

_He raised a single eyebrow, his lips pulled back into a sinister smile. He bet down so that his mouth was inches away from my ear. "Really? Funny you should say that. I bet Momo-chan would beg to differ. You really did a nasty job on her."_

_I clenched my jaw. I began to tremble in rage. __My vision began to swim and I began to feel light headed. But I clenched my zanpakuto tighter but just as I was about to raise it Aizen's sword was ripped out of my chest and all I saw was an explosion of red. I wasn't sure if it was just my imagination or if all that blood had really just come spurting out of my body. And pain, mind numbing pain I coughed again, causing my chest to feel like it was going to tear open from the pressure and I was choking on the blood._

"_You know, I was against you becoming a captain. You're too young; you can't even separate your emotions from your duty. You were unfit for captaincy even from the very beginning. You're weak, that's what you are."_

_I began to fall. Wind whipped at my kimono and my skin. I was so high up that the tops of the skyscrapers looked like grey blocks. Everything was so jumbled up now, I couldn't tell if I was panicking or not. I knew I must have been though. Even with all the blood I was losing my heart rate still sped up causing the blood to flow faster, faster out of my body. Blackness began to swim in the corners of my eyes. The buildings drew closer at an alarming rate. I felt my body grow cold, numb._

I jolted awake scrabbling at my sheets. My chest seized up and I was coughing as if my life depended on it. One hand knotted the front of my shirt over my heart, the other enclosed around Hyourinmaru's tail. It felt as though I was being shocked through my chest by lighting. I squeezed my eyes shut. I wanted to cry out in pain. My chest had never hurt so much before. I curled up into a ball, wishing that it would just stop. Eventually after what felt like an eternity the pain faded. I took a few shaky breaths and uncurled my limbs. My chest felt extremely tender as I rubbed it. I was trembling so badly I could barely move and goose bumps had risen up on my flesh. I frowned; my breath was also coming out in white puffs. The sheets on my bed were ice and there was a layer of fog on the floor. My eyes widened. What the hell was all this? I swung my legs over the edge of my bed only to swing them back up instantly. The floor was so cold that it burned. There was a storm going on outside. All I could see were white snowflakes being tossed up into the grey sky, there was even a bit of lightning in the distance and the wind was howling like a pack of wolves.

_What is going on? I thought._

_Relax._

I froze. Someone else was in here. My heart beat picked up pace as I scanned the room. My thoughts immediately went to Aizen. He was after me. He had somehow, managed to get past Ichigo. Oh god, I was going to die here, wasn't I? I hugged the dragon to my chest and licked my dry lips. I felt cold sweat rise up on my back.

_Go away, go away, go away. _I chanted in my head.

_No. _

My heart stopped. He could hear my thoughts? Oh god, I was going to die. I grasped Hyourinmaru tighter.

"Leave me alone." I whispered. My heart was beating so loud I half expected the sound to echo around the room.

_Relax._

I covered my ears with my hands. "Leave me alone. Go away." I laughed bitterly in my head. If Urahara was right and all of those... visions were memories, then that meant Aizen had killed me. Who's to say that he wouldn't do it again? I wouldn't even be able to resist him.

I felt an icy hand touch my shoulder. It was a light touch, I could have even imagined it, or it could have just been the frigid air moving about around me. I screamed and leapt off the bed scrambling into a corner. The cold floor burned my feet, but that was nothing compared to how scared I was. My heart was palpitating at a rate that should not have been possible.

"Go away!" I shouted and tried to sink into the wall. I felt tears leak from my eyes and freeze before they reached halfway down my face. I was not ready to die yet.

_Child._

"Shut up! Leave me alone, leave me alone." I squeezed Hyourinmaru to my chest and slid down the wall. "Leave me alone, leave me alone, leave me alone-" my voice cracked and began to sob like a baby.

Wind howled outside and I could hear hale battering the windows. I must have left it open again cause the small rocks rained around me stinging every inch of my body and the wind ripped my sheets from my bed and slammed open and close my wardrobe doors. But all of this was noticed from a distance. All I could really concentrate was on the fact that I was going to die soon. I don't think I had ever cried this hard before. It even numbed the feelings of my panic attack.

I felt my energy slowly ebb away and I didn't remember anything else after that.

...

I cracked an eye open. As my senses came back to me I noticed that I was trembling so hard it felt like I was having a seizure. And I felt worn out, like an elastic band that had been stretched to the point that it couldn't stretch anymore. I tried to sit up, but I found that I could not move. I swallowed, my throat felt like sandpaper. I turned my head to see Mikami, Teito, Ichigo and Rukia staring right at me. Mikami was holding a thermometer and a bowl of hot water with a wash cloth. Steam was rising from it. I understood from her equipment that I probably had a fever, of some sort.

Ichigo sighed and came over to me. "I would ask how you're feeling but it's evident that you feel like crap." He grinned at his own joke. "What happened?"

As I recalled last night my eyes widened and I attempted to sit up again. Mikami held me down in a flash.

"Aizen!" I exclaimed the words were painful to utter and I barely recognised my own voice. "Aizen was here in my room!"

Ichigo frowned and turned to Rukia. "No... He wasn't."

"But I heard him! He was talking to me."

"Aizen wasn't anywhere near here Hyōka, calm down. He hasn't been seen in twelve years you're safe. Don't worry."

"But-"

"The only thing that was here last night was a hell a lot of hollows. And you're reiatsu went crazy, that's why there was a storm." He reached over and smoothed my bangs away from my face. "I told you that I'm not going to let Aizen Touch you."

I frowned, then the voice, who did it belong to? But there were bigger things to worry about if Aizen could be disregarded from the situation. "I- I caused that storm?"

Teito and Mikami were suddenly on edge. Ichigo nodded. "I don't know why, but you're reiatsu suddenly surged."

I was going to ask how that was even possible but a sudden fit of coughing stopped me.

"Hey, take it easy." Ichigo gently helped me to sit up as the coughing grew worse. I clutched the front of my chest; it had started to hurt again. When the coughing stopped, I felt Ichigo unbutton my night shirt. He pushed the sleeves down my arms and stared at my bear chest with a frown. I froze, his expression was unnerving.

"You said that this was a birthmark." He stated running his index finger over the mark on my chest. I followed his hand noticing how the mark was red, raw and sensitive to the touch. "It looks more like an agitated wound to me." His gaze drifted to mine. His usually warm eyes were hard, and cut like razors. "Hyōka, were you lying to me?"

"No!" I exclaimed suddenly scared to anger him. "I was born with it, I swear."

"He really was," Mikami said. "We just assumed that there was some pre-natal problem."

Ichigo glanced to Rukia for a split second before laying me back down. "You should rest. That fever's not going to go away by itself."

I sighed and Mikami came up to me and placed the wet cloth on my forehead without a word. I saw Teito shaking his head in the background.

"There's never a dull moment with you around, Koko-chan." He muttered.

"Don't call me that."

He laughed softly, "Just go back to sleep maybe if you're lucky you'll be better by this evening."

I rolled my eyes as he ushered everyone out of the room. I was lucky it was a weekend so I wasn't missing any school today. I stared at the ceiling realising after minute or two, that this was Teito's room. It was the dark blue curtains that gave it away, mine were yellow. My room must have been defrosting; I had left the window open after all. I just hopped there was not too much damage. I managed to roll over and snuggle into the pillows. Hyourinmaru was lying next to me, so I grabbed him and pulled him into my chest. His plush fur was a little cold and damp, but I didn't care. I stroked the fur on his head and smoothed down his ears. I held back a yawn. Ichigo was right, I was tired.

"Hyourinmaru?" I mumbled feeling my eyes begin to droop. "Do you know who that voice belonged to?"

I made him nod.

"Then tell me you silly dragon."

I stared into his red button eyes for a second before mine started to close.

_Me._

I chuckled as I felt sleep clouding over my senses. Silly dragon, stuffed animals didn't talk.

...

I was sitting up in bed reading. My fever had broken earlier that afternoon but I still did not have the energy to get out of bed. That being said I had been very productive getting a few assignments done and managing to get ahead in the reading for history.

"Hyōka, you have a visitor." Teito poked his head into the room. I frowned, who was that? Ariwa and Kasai always just barged into my room. I remembered one time I had just gotten out of the shower and was about to put on my pants when my bedroom door had flown open to reveal Kasai. I had never covered up so fast in my life. At least Kasai had the decency to be embarrassed but Ariwa had teased us both for a couple days afterwards. Apart from those two, I never had any visitors. I turned to face the door.

Teito led in a tall boy with short bleached hair and fading bruise on his jaw. My eyes widened.

"Adachi?"

He glanced at me then quickly looked away.

Teito sensed the awkwardness a quickly left the room making an excuse about having to start dinner. Adachi stood stiffly in the doorway and glared at the floor.

"You can sit down, you know. There's a chair over there or you can sit here." I patted the bed.

He sat down on the chair neither looking away nor directly facing me either. I sighed. It had been almost a week since our conversation at the clinic. He hadn't bullied me since. In fact we almost had a decent conversation during our detention the other day. It was only two words, but hey, it was a start.

"What are you doing here?" I asked slowly.

He chewed his bottom lip. "Kurosaki-san wasn't at his house and I didn't know where else to go."

I frowned; was it his father again? Was he trying to run away? "So I'm assuming that-"

"Did you see the storm last night?" He raised his head and was finally looking at me.

I paused, "Yeah, what about it?"

"It was creepy. It didn't feel like a normal storm. Everything was colder, and there were tonnes of hollows everywhere."

"You weren't hurt were you?"

He shook his head. "The hollows seemed to be going after something else. But I don't know, there was this feeling like something really... evil was coming from the storm."

"What?"

"I don't know how to explain it, but it felt hostile like it wanted to kill."

"How did you get all of that from a storm?"

He shrugged, "I just felt it. And I was wondering since, you know, you can see hollows too, if you felt anything."

I slowly shook my head. "No. I can't say that I did, sorry."

His shoulders slumped in visible disappointment. "Oh, do you know where Kurosaki-san is then?"

I shook my head again. "He said he was coming back here later, if you want to wait for him."

He nodded. We fell into an uncomfortable silence. Well what did you say to the guy who had made it his life's goal to torment you? And I'm sure it must have been just as awkward for Adachi as it was for me. We had never exchanged a kind word until last week.

"So... why are you in bed?" He asked at length. "Are you sick?"

"I was this morning, I'm better now though."

"Oh, was it an anxie... anx... anxiea-"

"Anxiety attack? No, it was just a fever."

He nodded. Soon his eyes zoned in on Hyourinmaru. "That yours?"

I nodded, waiting for the insults to come.

"Aren't you a little too old for that? What kind of thirteen year old sleeps with a stuffed animal?"

I scowled at him. "I'm twelve." As if that made things any better.

He raised an eyebrow. "You skipped a grade? I bet you're some kind of super genius."

"If you're going to insult me you can leave."

"I'm not, honest. You're kind of lucky, actually." He snorted. "I've done grade eight twice, and I still don't understand half the work."

I frowned. "How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

I blinked when I realised what he was doing. He was making us even; he knew my faults so he was letting me know some of his. If my first impression of him hadn't been so bad, I could see myself actually growing to like him.

"I can help you if you want." I muttered at length. "With your school work. If you find it hard you can just ask me to explain it to you."

He cocked his head. "What's the catch?"

I shrugged. "Nothing really... just start being nicer to people."

He snorted. "They'll think I'm going soft. And I wouldn't understand anything even if you explained it to me. I'm not smart like you. I don't think I can even make it to high school."

I frowned; he couldn't be that badly off. Turns out he was. I gave him my book to read out loud. His reading level was that of an eight year old. I might have been exaggerating but he was bad. I hopped that he was dyslexic, because this was just sad.

"I told you." He said sitting back looking somewhat relaxed.

I sighed and took the book back from him. "What happens, do you just not know the words or..."

"I don't know some of them, but the rest are just jumbled up sometimes."

"Sounds like dyslexia."

"Dis-what?"

"It's a learning disability. Hasn't anyone ever tested you for it?"

"Probably, but I don't think my foster parents wanted to spend the extra money. What was it called again?"

"Dyslexia. I'll mention it to Hamada-sensei, she'll know what to do."

"Why don't you just teach me?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Because I'm not a qualified teacher."

"Then don't bother, it's not that important."

I looked at him like he was crazy. "You're not going to get anywhere without an education."

"I'm not going to get anywhere anyway."

I clicked my tongue in annoyance.

"Look I just don't want to give people another reason to look down on me. I can take care of myself, I just have to concentrate harder."

"I'm telling her anyway."

His nostrils flared. "If you tell her, I'll beat you up. Just because I like you now, doesn't mean I can't still pound you."

I rolled my eyes. So, he 'liked' me now, huh?

...

"I've got great news, everyone!" Ichigo exclaimed bursting into the apartment. Adachi had stayed for dinner and we had moved to the couch. Teito was idly flicking through channels on the television and Mikami, who still wasn't talking to me, was cleaning up the table. We all glanced up at the ginger man. Rukia followed him in at a much slower pace.

Teito turned off the television and looked at him. Mikami came into the room wiping her hands on a towel. Teito had told her all about Aizen and learning to fight the hollows. I think she had gone to a couple of his classes this week.

"Are you going to tell us or are we going to have to guess?" He deadpanned.

Ichigo grinned, "We're getting reinforcements!"

Rukia rolled her eyes. "He means more shinigami are coming to investigate the situation."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because you showed up on their radar, Hyōka." Ichigo beamed at me.

"Who is they?" Mikami spoke up.

Ichigo glanced at Rukia. She rolled her eyes then nodded. "The Gotei Thirteen. "

A cold shiver shot down my spine at the name. Kisuke had mentioned it before as well. So this was the organisation that they belonged to. I made a mental note of it. "Who are they sending?" I asked.

"You don't know them." He answered.

"Well, that's why I asked, obviously."

He just grinned and walked over to me. He bent down and poked me on my nose. "You'll find out soon, Koko-chan."

There was something definitely off about him today. He was never this happy. And no one ever dared using Teito's pet name for me. I jerked back and scowled at him.

"Why are you so happy? Did you get laid or something?"

The tomato red blush that spread across his face was amusing to say the least.

"Hyōka!" Both Teito and Mikami exclaimed in shock.

I shrugged. What? It was a ... not so innocent question. But still, he had it coming; there was only one reason for an adult guy to be so freakishly happy. He had gotten some.

Rukia was laughing her head off. Tears were even streaming down her face. "Oh my god, I love this kid."

Even Adachi was chuckling a bit. I smirked; I finally had one on Ichigo.

* * *

**Things are beginning to roll along. More Shinigami to come in the next chapter and more of Hyourinmaru too. **

**I actually won't ask for reviews this time but instead just take a look at Kony 2012 . com **

**-Mymomomo**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hi everyone :) I'm on a roll now !**

* * *

Today my worst fear came true. I had a panic attack during class. It had been almost two weeks since I had learnt about Aizen. Afterwards I think I averaged at least four hours of sleep a night. The dreams were getting worse. Every time I woke up I felt as if someone had been watching me all night and my room was always cold no matter how high I turned the heat up before I went to sleep. I had dreams about the weirdest things but the exact situations always evaded me and I could never remember faces or names. The two dreams that were the most vivid, though, were the dream with Aizen and the one about the blizzard. The winds were talking to me now. They spoke in soft whispers but I could never make out the words. And call me crazy but I had a gut feeling that it wasn't really the winds that were talking, but something else. The more I thought about it the less I understood.

But anyway back to school. It was during first period geography when I suddenly felt the attack hit. The scary thing was that there was no trigger, it just happened. All of a sudden I couldn't breathe and the world felt like it was caving in on me. Thankfully it didn't last long. But when I came to I found myself on the floor next to my seat with everyone staring at me, the room was silent. The teacher was bent over me and Ariwa was helping me up while explaining to him what just happened. I was too shocked to say anything and just let him usher me out of the room. I was excused from the rest of the class and made to go to the nurse. So, the cat was out of the bag and my entire class knew that I suffered from anxiety. The whispers and snide remarks started during the period after. I tried to ignore them but it was like September all over again, except instead of comments about my hair, they joked about how I was mentally unstable. Eventually I had enough and asked the nurse if I could call Mikami and go home early. These 'trigger-less' attacks had started up recently. One minute I was fine the next I was curled up a ball trying not to cry. It was frustrating, as soon as I thought I had my anxiety under control this happened.

The nurse called Mikami and explained what happened. She brought me home instead of to the clinic to my surprise, and told me that if I had another panic attack to call her immediately after. She might have been considering putting me on medication because in the past week I had more panic attacks than in the past three months. They were little ones during the day and usually only lasted around three to five minutes but they were tiring and I knew she feared for my health. Even more so because three nights ago I had one during dinner and almost choked on a piece of chicken, they had to perform abdominal thrusts before I could breathe again. I was surprised that she let me stay home by myself but I guess she was still stinging from the comment I made to her that day in the clinic. I wasn't the only one in the family who could hold a grudge.

But now with the whole day cleared out for me I had no idea what to do. So I lay on the couch and started a new book. I had barely opened it when my phone vibrated, signaling I had received a text message. It was four words from Kasai; _we're outside, open up._ I sighed; she would have skipped school to check up on me. But; we're? Did that mean she had dragged Ariwa away from school as well? The poor boy must have been having a heart attack right about now. He never disobeyed any rules. I rolled off the couch and let them in.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Ariwa exclaimed, "My parents are going to kill me when they find out."

Kasai rolled her eyes. "Calm down. The worst they can do is ground you. And that's not so bad, just ask Hyōka. If anyone knows about being grounded it's him."

"Funny. So how were things when I left?" I asked.

Ariwa took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Well, most of the class was freaked out when you fell out of your chair and the nurse came to visit during third period and gave a little presentation about your condition. She told the class not to bring it up again unless you do. So I can't imagine anyone giving you much grief about it. And the few that didn't take it seriously, believe it or not Adachi shut them up. He punched Kohei in the face when he called you mentally unbalanced... Hyōka, what is going on between you two?"

So Adachi had stood up for me. I shrugged. "He came to Mikami's work the other day and well, I kinda told him off and he listened."

Kasai raised an eyebrow. "Yeah right. And I'm a gold rhinoceros. What really happened?"

I hesitated. I had promised Adachi that I wouldn't tell anyone his secret. And I wasn't ready to share mine yet. "You guys are my best friends, but I made a promise and I can't tell you."

"You made a promise with the school bully? Hyōka, you're an idiot. Why?"

"We found common ground. And he's not that bad once you get under all that-"

"Just stop. I don't like him and I especially don't like you advocating for him. You can be friends with him if you want but don't expect me to." she folded her arms across her chest and stared me down.

"I didn't expect you to." I snarled.

Ariwa just glanced back and forth between us. "So did the cast list for the play come out yet?" he tried to change the subject trying to calm us down.

Kasai's face brightened. "Yes, Yamasaki-sensei emailed it to me last night." She turned to me. "Congratulations, Hyōka. Rehearsals start tomorrow."

"What!" I exclaimed in shock. Okay, so I had tried out, only because Kasai was annoying the daylights out of me. And well honestly, I thought I was nothing special.

She giggled and reached into her school bag. "I told you, you were great. Why you're not in the drama club is beyond me." She handed me a sheet of paper. "I printed out the cast list. You're going to love this."

I could never tell if she was being sarcastic or not. I wearily took the list and scanned it for my name. I did not have to look hard. There it was right at the top. Takemistu Hyōka: Macbeth. I did a double take.

"I got the lead?"

"Mmhmm. Yamasaki-sensei said you were the only one who wasn't over the top. You also made a promising war general."

Ariwa was looking at me with a grin like the cat that ate the canary. "I'm not missing this play for the world."

...

I don't know whose bright idea this was, but it was not going well. I pressed myself further back into the alleyway hoping to stay hidden. When Ariwa and Kasai had left I found myself bored stiff so I decided to go for a walk. It was a stupid idea I know, but I couldn't concentrate on my book anymore and I had always found talking walks during the winter to be calming. Who would have thought that I would be hiding for my life as soon as I stepped foot out of the apartment? Right now I wished with the utmost sincerity that Ichigo had taught me how to control my reiatsu. I wondered if I held my breath if it would help but then again if I passed out then that wouldn't be effective at all. The sharp click of high heeled shoes on the pavement told me that I had been found and I tried to duck further behind the random stack of plywood that lay against the wall. The clicking became louder and closer and I found myself holding my breath regardless. Five seconds later a pale green eye stared at me through a crack in the wood.

"Found you." The arrancar's voice was like poisoned honey.

The plywood was shoved away like it was a pile of cardboard. Splinters rained down on me and I tried to scramble away. I didn't make it far before a boney arm was snaked around my waist and I was yanked into the air. This was getting very old very fast. I tried to wiggle out of her hold. She was surprisingly strong for something so thin.

"Let go of me, you bastard!" I shouted.

"That's not very nice-"

"Neither is you trying to kidnap me!" I yelled and banged on her rib cage.

"Stop that." she growled and shifted my position so that her hold on my waist was so tight it hurt. "Young boys should be more polite."

I kicked her this time. "Fuck you. Let me go!"

She sighed, "Aizen-sama, has some work."

My stomach jolted at her works and with renewed vigour I tried to worm my way out of her grasp.

"I said stop that." She exclaimed and suddenly my right cheek was stinging. I glared at her raised arm. "Such a pretty face, too bad it's not going to stay that way for long." Her painted red lips stretched into a smile.

"Let me go!" I shouted again my voice cracking. I had no idea what Aizen wanted me for but now that I knew it included torture, I was not going to go quietly.

_Fight._

I was going to fight so hard it would hurt. I heard a deep laugh rumble in the back of my mind and suddenly a dark grey cloud covered the sun. The whole world was cast into shadows and it started snowing. The flakes fell gently at first but soon the wind picked up and all I could see was a wall of white and grey and the hazy outline of buildings.

The arrancar's eyes went wide and she glanced around frantically like, for the want of a better phrase, had seen a ghost. I felt her begin to tremble either from fear or cold. I don't remember the weather report saying anything about storms today, but I wasn't complaining. I dug my nails into her arm and pushed against her body.

"Let me go!"

She stared at me like she had just noticed that she was holding on to me. Her jaw dropped and she mouthed words soundlessly. I kicked her in the ribs again and I felt her hold loosen. I had not been expecting that but what shocked me even more was the shower of crimson liquid that I was now soaked in and the two hands that grasped me under my arm pits. I stared wide eyed as the arrancar disintegrated leaving behind a puddle of blood; a splotch of red in the immaculate snow. The arms around me pulled me into a broad, heavily muscled chest as I struggled against the hold.

"Hey, calm down. I'm trying to help!"

I froze. I certainly did not know this person. "Put me down!"

"Okay, okay, you don't have to fight me!"

As soon as my feet touched the ground I bolted.

"Hey! Kid, come back here!"

I didn't even bother looking back. I had enough of strangers for the day. I made it out of the alleyway and then ran head first into a woman who had been passing by. I stumbled back and fell. She glanced down at me and helped me up.

"I'm sorry about that. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." she apologised. "Are you alright?"

Words seemed to evade me. Here I was covered in blood, running out of an alley and this woman was calmly asking me if I was alright. I sure as hell was not! I studied her with a scowl on my face. She was dressed in dark pants a pink coat lined with fur and matching boots. A white scarf covered most of her face and her hair was pulled back under her hood. When I didn't answer, she stooped down and brushed her gloved finger across my cheek. Her eyes were grey-blue. I suddenly felt like I was shocked by lightning and I stumbled back again.

She clicked her tongue and glared at something over my shoulder. "Goddamnit, Renji!" she suddenly yelled, "What the hell did you do?"

"Me?" a voice said from behind me. I turned to see a man about Teito's height with scarlet hair tied up in a spiky ponytail. Black tribal tattoos cover quite a bit of his body but it was his black kimono that really drew my attention. The reinforcements that Ichigo had been talking about, perhaps? His name struck a nerve however, I couldn't help feeling that I had seen him before. Renji... Abarai Renji. My eyes widened, his name had just come completely out of the blue.

"I killed the freaking arrancar, that's what I did." he shouted, "Ichigo's not doing his job."

"What did you do, explode it with Kido? The kid's covered in blood!"

"So what, he's safe isn't he? And what are _you_ doing here?"

"That's not important. We need to get somewhere warm before we all freeze."

As she put her arm around my shoulders I began to wonder if I was ever going to have a normal day again.

...

I found myself back in The Urahara Shop seated at the circular coffee table. Renji and the woman had disappeared shortly after we had arrived and told me to wait on them. So it was just me and Kisuke sitting at the table. I pulled my shirt closer around my body it was chilly in here and my coat had to be scrapped, there was no way those stains would be able to come out.

"So how was school today?" Kisuke asked breaking the silence.

I raised an eyebrow. I had a feeling that he already knew about my panic attack today. "It was alright."

"Really, nothing special happened?"

"... No."

He grinned knowingly. "I see. How has your anxiety been lately?"

He was baiting me, I know he was. "It's been nothing I can't handle."

"Okay. If anything does happen don't hesitate to tell me."

I rolled my eyes. It was like this man could read me like a book. "Fine, I had a panic attack in school today. Are you happy now?"

He frowned, "Happy? Why would I be happy about that, it's terrible?"

I grit my teeth.

"I'm surprised you're not on any type of medication for it."

I snorted. "Mikami doesn't like the idea."

"Well she is a doctor, can't really argue with that, I suppose."

I sighed, small talk had never been my forte and this was as uncomfortable as hell. Kisuke's smile did not do anything to help either. Thankfully there was a commotion from the next room that drew our attention.

"I didn't ask for your help so stop complaining!"

"Who's complaining? I'm not the one too lazy to do my job!"

"I only asked you for one favour because I was busy today. Next time don't bother I'll do it myself."

"Good, cause I don't want to help you next time."

"Good."

"Will you two stop acting like children?"

"He started it!"

"I did not."

"Did to."

"Shut up!"

Just then four shinigami burst through the door.

"Hyōka, are you okay?"Ichigo exclaimed rushing over to me. "What were you doing out there in the first place?"

I shrugged, "I went for a walk."

"By yourself?"

"Yes. Is that a crime, Kurosaki?"

Someone started chuckling I turned to face them and literally froze. She stood leaning against the far wall with an agitated expression on her face. Her arms were folded across her large chest which her kodose left exposed. Usually I would have blushed at seeing this but for some reason I did not feel embarrassed at all. Strawberry blonde locks fell past her shoulders in soft waves and a bright pink scarf was draped around her shoulders. When she saw me staring at her she flashed a flawless smile, but it somehow did not reach her eyes. I felt my throat constrict and my chest tightened. The room started to blur as well I had to hold on to the edge of the table to keep from falling over.

Suddenly the two of us were sitting on a patio looking at the stars. She was poking me in my ribs and laughing at something. Next she was setting a cup of tea among piles and piles of papers at my desk, saying that I needed to take a break. Then she was sleeping on a couch and I was yelling at her to get up. Afterwards she was trying to force a glass of sake down my throat. After that we were standing back to back surrounded by a horde of hollow. Flashes of her smiling, laughing, pouting, teasing, hung-over and scolding zoomed through my mind like a show of fireworks. Then I blinked and she was kneeling next to me her hands on my shoulders keeping me from tipping over. I had to fight the sudden urge to hug her and never let go.

"Hyōka, right?" she asked softly.

I nodded.

"Do you remember me?"

I nodded again. "R-rangi-k-ku."My voice cracked.

Suddenly I found myself pulled into a tight hug. My face almost crashed into her shoulder and her arms were wrapped around my torso. A bittersweet feeling followed, it's like I wanted to explode from happiness and breakdown crying at the same time. But I took a deep breath and held it all in. Now was not the time, questions needed to be answered. So I reluctantly extracted myself from her. She hurriedly brushed something from her eye and sent me a small smile. I mirrored it and suddenly I felt exhausted.

"Now that that's over with, Rangiku what the hell are you doing here?" Renji snapped.

Rukia hit him in the head. "Could you be more tactless? The reason's obvious."

He cocked his head confused.

"Were these the reinforcements you were talking about?" I asked Ichigo.

He nodded, "Well, it was only supposed to be Renji who came but-"

"Like I was going to let him have all the fun?" Rangiku waved her hand. "When I heard that he was being assigned to the Living World I just had to come as well. Plus I needed to go shopping."

"Really, Rangiku, dose Yamamoto know you're here?" Rukia sighed shaking her head.

"Well... the thing is-"

"Rangiku! You have to go back! If he finds out you'll lose your-"

"He won't find out my second seat is covering for me. And I'll lose my what? My Captaincy?" she scoffed. "If he really cared he wouldn't have given it to me in the first place."

"Wait!" Ichigo exclaimed causing everybody to look at him. "You're a captain now?"

She grinned but I thought that she didn't look too pleased. "Yeah, for five years now. Renji too." She smoothed out the sleeveless, white jacket... haori, lined with green. I felt a tiny pang of jealousy and briefly wondered where it came from.

"What?" Ichigo all but shouted and turned on the red haired man.

"You idiot, you mean you didn't even notice?" he snorted, fingering his own haori proudly. "The Soul Society has changed since you've last been there."

"Yeah well, I've had my hands full down here." He glanced at me.

"Well, Ikkaku's now captain of The Third and we still need a captain for The Ninth. The job's open if you're up for it."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "I don't think so."

"I told Yama-ji you would say that-"

I cleared my throat. "I'm sure you two can do your catching up later. We have more important things to discuss at the moment."

Renji stared at me like I had grown a second head.

"Is there a problem, Abarai?"

His eyes widened. "No, sir."

I paused and raised an eyebrow, "There's no need to call me, sir. Kurosaki, your friends are weird."

The doctor-shinigami chuckled. "Now, what do we have to discuss?"

"The arrancar this afternoon, where were you?" I demanded.

He jerked his head at Renji. "At the clinic, this guy was supposed to have taken care of you. Were you hurt?"

"No, but-"

He grinned. "You wanted me to come, didn't you?"

"I did not! Don't flatter yourself."

"Then what? You're safe that's all that matters."

I sighed. "Do you know why Aizen wants me?"

"We have a hunch." Kisuke spoke up. I had forgotten he was in the room. "But we're not allowed to tell you."

"Useless bastard." I muttered under my breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Aizen, he's not above torture is he?"

Ichigo's brow dipped. "I told you, Hyōka, I'm not letting him get to you. Don't worry."

"I know you'll _try_. But the arrancar said... well, these are her exact words; 'such a pretty face, too bad it's not gonna stay that way for long.' So excuse me for being a little apprehensive about the whole situation. Never mind the fact that a lunatic is after me!"

"Aizen, is after you?" Rangiku turned to look at me. "And we don't have a guard set up?"

"So what am I, chopped liver?" Ichigo snapped.

She ignored him. "What is Yamamoto thinking? The old man is losing it."

"Maybe he's thinking that I can handle-"

Ichigo was cut off when I yawned loudly.

"What time is it?" he asked eyeing me before turning to the wall clock. "Shit, ten o'clock. We need to get you home. Mikami's probably freaking out."

"Who's Mikami?" Rangiku asked.

"My sister." I answered.

"You have a family?" Renji asked, incredulously.

I rolled my eyes. "No, I popped out of thin air one day. I just like calling her my sister."

Everyone chuckled at Renji's expense.

"Be careful with that tongue, you might cut yourself one day." Kisuke advised before getting up. "But don't worry about Mikami, I told her you were here."

"I'd still worry about her." Ichigo sighed, "You're going to be in big trouble when you get home."

"I didn't ask the arrancar to attack me! How can she possibly punish me for that?"

"Oh, you're not in trouble for this afternoon."

I frowned. "Then what did I do?"

Ichigo shot me a stern look. "You've been skipping your sessions with Hagino-san."

I shrugged, so what? I hadn't gone to see her since the day she had declared me schizophrenic. "I don't need them anymore."

"Yes you do! Hyōka you can't just decided that you're clinically stable. There are procedures that need to be completed."

"Clinically stable? Thanks a lot. And we know the cause of my anxiety, so why do I need to keep on going?"

"Cause we need to figure out how to deal with it. Any you're not talking your way out of this; I'm letting Mikami deal with this one."

I scowled at him then at Renji who I noticed was trying not to laugh.

"Something funny?" I sneered.

"You're going to get grounded?"

"Tch, no, I'm already grounded, she can't ground me twice." I only thought about that statement after I said it. Actually she could.

"It sounds like you get in trouble often." Rangiku noted with a confused yet amused look on her face.

Ichigo let out a short laugh. "This one? His middle name is trouble."

I sent him a scowl. "Really, Kurosaki?"

"Name one time."

"...Shut up." I said at length when I couldn't find an answer to his question.

For some odd reason Renji and Rangiku started laughing uncontrollably.

* * *

**Yay Rangiku and Renji make a big entrance! And surprise surprise Hyoka got the lead in the play! Hyourinmaru also communicating freely with him... too bad he doesn't realise it yet :/**

**Review?**

**- Mymomomo**


	18. Chapter 18

**Sorry I didn't meet the three chapter goal, but the end of March Break came very suddenly... the good news is that I already had more than half the chapter done when I came back to school and I just kept on adding a page or more every time I could. The result is an extremely long chapter in which not much happens. A sort of filler, but my plot doesn't have enough action to 'fill'... yet. Sigh 18 chapters and I haven't gotten anywhere. **

**The real action should be coming in a chapter or two. **

** more good news! For you at least, since my exams are coming up soon teachers have stopped giving me homework and assignments! Which potentially means more free time. So when I'm not studying, or rowing, or worrying about college I'll be writing!**

**I'll try to do at least one chapter maybe two per month.**

**So go ahead, start cheering ^^ I might just be able to get this story off the ground.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

"Good afternoon everyone!" Yamasaki-sensei sang as he entered the room. If I didn't know any better I would have thought he was gay. Loud and flamboyant were very mild words to describe him. Today he was dressed in a purple shirt with a green and orange checkered tie. But I guess that all that was necessary to be the head of the drama department. He taught grade nine drama and organised all the theatrical performances the school put on.

"Good afternoon, sir." we echoed. There were about fifteen of us sitting in a circle on the floor of his class room.

"I would like to congratulate all of you on your excellent auditions last week, and welcome to the wonderful world of drama." he opened his arms wide and wiggled his fingers at the word drama. "For the next month this stage is going to be your second home. But don't worry it may be a lot of work but I can assure you that you're going to enjoy every single second. Now by a show of hands how many of you have been in a production before?"

Everybody's hand shot up, except mine. How ironic, that the lead was the sole person who had no experience at all. How did I end up with the main part again?

Yamasaki-sensei grinned and clapped his hands together once. "Wonderful!" he came around and placed his hands on my shoulders. "Not to worry, Takemitsu-kun, I'm sure everyone here will be willing to help you with anything."

I nodded slowly.

"Great! Now who here has ever read the play?"

This time I was proud to say my hand went up.

"Excellent! Almost all of you! Okay, we're going to be doing a modern version of Macbeth because Shakespearian language is quite difficult to understand and memorise. You will all thank me later. Now time to lay down a couple rules. From here on out none of you have names. You," he pointed to me, "are Macbeth. You," he pointed to a girl with a long plait and bangs, "are Lady Macbeth." He continued around the circle like this until he had named everyone. "The second rule, there is no tolerance for people who come late to practice, I want no excuse, unless someone's dying and even then I expect you to drag yourself no matter how bloody or broken you may be."

I swallowed. What had I gotten myself into this time?

...

I woke up trembling. My breath was making white clouds in front of my face. I pulled my comforter closer around me but it hardly made a difference. The fabric itself was ice to the touch. I rubbed my hands together trying to get some warmth back into them and huddled into a ball. I might have been sitting in the middle of Antarctica for all the good it did. I picked up my frozen limbs and an even colder plush dragon and shuffled into the living room. I lay down on the couch and tried to get back to sleep. Almost as soon as my head hit the cushion I felt myself drifting off to sleep. I was tired, I couldn't deny that much.

I awoke with a jolt slipping off the narrow couch. There was a blinding pain in my forehead and my heart was pounding like jackhammer. Whatever I had dreamt of was not soothing at all, but it was all a blank void. The only thing that linked me to the dream world was the sharp pain in my chest. I clutched the front of my shirt and bent over. I was used to the panic attacks after the dreams by now, but that still didn't make them any easier. My breath caught in my throat and small tremors wracked my body. I tried my best to block out everything but every time I built up an inch of defense another wave of terror came and broke it down. I saw myself being stabbed by Aizen then crashing into the pavement below. I thought my skull was going to shatter from the impact. Then my chest was on fire making me forget everything. The cycle repeated itself for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually it subsided and I was able to break my head through the surface. I gasped for air and frantically looked around. I was back on the couch sitting in Mikami's lap her arms were wrapped around me, one slowly stroking my hair.

"Shhh, it's okay, it's okay." she was whispering. "It's okay; everything's going to be fine."

I tried to convince myself that it was the after effects of my panic attack, but I knew it wasn't. I felt a fresh set of tears well up in my eyes and I wrapped my arms around Mikami's waist. I remembered all the times she was there for me when things were bad. Whenever I was sick she held me close until I was better. Even after what I said to her and how badly I treated her lately she still came to comfort me. I had never felt so guilty in my life. It was in that moment I realised that maybe she did see me as her son, sort of. I mean, she was the one who had been taking care of me since I was five.

"Mi- mikami?" I stuttered.

"It's okay. Nothing's going to hurt you."

"I'm sorry."

I felt her hold me tighter. "It's alright."

"For everything. I-I-I didn't mean what I said and how I've been treating you lately-"

"It's okay, Hyōka."

"But it hurt you, what I said. I could see it."

She sighed. "Yes, it hurt. But I made a promise to myself and to mom that I would always take care of you no matter what. And you were mad when you said that. I know how you get when you're mad. I know you didn't really mean it."

I let out a deep breath and relaxed in her hold. "Did I wake you up?"

She shook her head. "No, I couldn't sleep. Why were you out here anyway?"

"Room was cold."

"How about I make some hot chocolate then we'll try to go back to sleep?"

I nodded then sat up. She smiled at me then as if just noticing something she frowned slightly. She raised her hand to my forehead and brushed away my bangs. I flinched as she pressed lightly on the skin. She wrinkled her nose then eyed the edge of the coffee table with disdain. I must have smacked my head on it when I fell off the couch.

"Okay, let's fix this up first then make some hot chocolate."

...

"Let's take it from the start of scene three. Macbeth, where are you?" Yamasaki-sensei shouted.

I sighed and walked to the centre of the stage. This character had way too many lines for my liking.

"I don't want to hear what anyone else says! I don't care if everyone deserts me! _Nothing_ will frighten me until Birnam wood gets up and moves to Dunsinane -"

"Excellent, Macbeth, but where is the doctor? He's supposed to enter with you."

I ground my teeth together. We had only gone through this, what, ten thousand times? Was it that hard to get it right? I glared at the doctor, a lanky boy with round glasses. He was apologising profusely as he scampered on stage.

"Sorry doesn't fix the scene. From the top, let's go!"

Rehersal went on like this for another hour then Yamasaki-sensei told us to take a thirty minute break. I was starting to get agitated towards the end for two reasons. One; I was repeating the same line over and over waiting for Macduff to get enough emotion in his lines, and two; I felt an arrancar nearby. Once Yamasaki-sensei said we could leave I was out the door making my way to the exit. I knew the arrancar was coming after me and I could not have it going into the school to endanger anyone else. I knew that these Saturday practises were going to be bad news. Since the female arrancar had tried to kidnap me earlier this week I things had been pretty quiet, up until now that is. I pushed the door to the main entrance open and almost ran into someone.

"Hyōka! Do you feel it too?"

I stared up at Adachi, It looked as though he had been running. His checks were flushed and large clouds of condensation formed in front of his face.

"Yeah, but what are you doing here? It's Saturday."

"I came to warn you."

"Thanks, but until Kurosaki and the others arrive I'm pretty much a sitting duck."

"Then let's find it before it finds us. We can go looking for it."

"What? Adachi, are you crazy?" I exclaimed.

"Look, I want to try fighting. Kurosaki-san has taught me a few things and I want to see how they work."

"Yes, but this is an arrancar, they're not exactly play things." I hissed. This boy lacked any possible type of common sense there was.

"Then if anything goes wrong we can call Kurosaki-san."

"If anything goes wrong we'll probably be dead."

He glared at me. "I didn't know you were such a wuss, Takemitsu."

"I'm not a wuss, this idea is just stupid. We could get killed!"

"Fine then, you stay here and I'll go look for it."

"No!"

He narrowed his eyes. "You can't tell me what to do, if I want to go looking for it, you can't stop me."

With that he took off. I was about to follow him. I couldn't let him go after it by himself, but a hand around my shoulder prevented me from going anywhere.

"Yamasaki-sensei, wants us inside now."

I turned to see the girl playing Lady Macbeth holding on to my jacket. I chewed my bottom lip. Shit, Adachi, he didn't even know what he was getting himself into. I could chase after him and drop out of the play, but then Yamasaki-sensei would have chased me out of town with a pitchfork not to mention Kasai would take it personally. I slowly turned back to go inside, if Adachi really got into any trouble the most I could hope for is that Ichigo and the others got to him. I trusted Ichigo, he would turn up.

...

"Act two; scene two. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, that's you." Yamasaki-sensei hollered. He was getting too much into this, it was scary.

Lady Macbeth had a soliloquy before I entered. I almost missed my cue. I was trying to keep track of the arrancar and trying to pick up any traces of Adachi. That was another thing I needed to do, learn to track people using their reiatsu.

"... I put so many sleeping pills in their water it will be hard to tell if they're dead or alive." Lady Macbeth's voice echoed off stage.

"Who's there? What's going on?" I called from back stage.

She went back to talking and I strained my senses. Ichigo had said that everyone had distinct reiatsu signatures; I just wish I knew what I was looking for. Adachi could be dead for all I knew.

"... I would have killed him myself."

That was my cue. Adachi would have to wait until the end of this scene. I was trying to come up with an excuse to leave early but nothing seemed plausible. I stumbled on stage.

"Macbeth, sweetheart!"

I inwardly cringed at the name. "I killed him. Did you hear anything?"

"Nothing strange. Did you say anything?"

"When?"

"Just now."

"As I came down?"

"Yes."

The arrancar drew nearer to the school. My eyes widened. I needed to get out of here now. I tried to think up an excuse to leave. Oh wait it was my line... shit, what was it again. My brain was running in circles. Think of a way to get out, no remember your line, no you need to get out, but everyone's staring at you. Needless to say I couldn't come up with anything.

"Umm..."

"Who's sleeping in the room next to Duncan?" Yamasaki-sensei shouted. "What happened? Everything was going so well? Start over."

Now was my chance to get out. "Yamasaki-sensei-"

"Start over. I don't want to hear it."

I huffed and walked off stage. Damnit, Adachi, I chewed my bottom lip. What are you doing?

"... I put so many sleeping pills in their water it will be hard to tell if they're dead or alive."

"Who's there? What's going on?" I drawled.

"More emotion, Macbeth! You just killed the president, you're scared and agitated _not_ bored! Do it again."

I rolled my eyes. "Who's there? What's going on?" I yelled frantically.

I heard Yamasaki-sensei groan. "A little too much agitation this time. You sound like a scared child."

I was never going to be able to leave.

Thank god they didn't need me for the last scene. I bolted out of the school the arrancar was still prowling around. I could feel it as I ran through the streets searching for Adachi. I only hoped he hadn't gone after it, that he had been struck by some rationality. It had been almost two hours since I had last seen Adachi and since I could still feel the arrancar, it meant that Ichigo hadn't got to it yet. I ran towards it. If Adachi was dead I didn't know what I would do.

I rounded the corner and saw a young looking arrancar sitting down cross-legged with Adachi lying at its feet. It was surprisingly thin. I could see no muscle mass what so ever on its body. "Patience is a virtue and those with virtues shall be rewarded, indeed."

No. My stomach dropped to my feet. It got him. It got Adachi. He's dead. No! My eyes locked with the arrancar and I felt furry well up in my chest. It had killed him!

"I knew you would come sooner or later, it was just a matter of patience." It drawled showing a set of sharp teeth. "This one actually thought he could fight me. Don't worry he's not dead... yet."

Not dead? Thank god. I swallowed as a wave of relief washed over me.

"Let him go." I ordered.

"I'm not holding him down; you can have him back if you want, for a price of course."

I snarled. Where the hell was Ichigo? "I'll come with you if you don't touch him anymore."

"Okay." He said brightly.

I didn't move. Something was up, if the arrancar was so confident, especially in a town full of shinigami. "Will you answer me something?"

"It depends."

"You've been here for more than two hours, how is it that none of the shinigami stationed here have noticed you?"

He grinned widely. I couldn't help be reminded of a snake. His mouth opened unnaturally wide and they was he was sitting hunched over make him look like a cobra positioned to strike.

"You're a smart one for noticing that. You see, Aizen-sama chose me for this mission for a special reason. I can hide my reiatsu completely and at the same time make it so that only who I want to sense it can. To your shinigami, I'm not even here right now. Now get over here, Aizen-sama has been waiting a long time for you."

My eyes widened. Ichigo didn't even know it was here. Shit, I was in trouble. I widened my stance and curled my hands into fists.

"So why did he sense you as well?" I gestured to Adachi.

"There were two of you with exceptionally high spiritual pressure, so I didn't know which one to target. Why not draw you both and then decide when you come?"

I didn't like this one bit. My muscles were tense, ready to spring if he made any sudden movements.

"I said, get over here child. We had a deal."

I swallowed and raised my fists.

"You really think you can fight me?" he sighed. "Well it can't be helped. Sorry Aizen-sama, I know you wanted him undamaged but I don't think I can do that."

The next thing I knew he was behind me. I spun around. This was what nearly seven years of karate classes had taught me. I just hoped that my fighting back would make a difference. Before he could reach out and grab me I swung my foot forward. It was a perfectly executed round house kick, my instructor would have been proud. The hollows eyes widened and it stumbled backwards clutching its stomach in pain. I gasped in surprise. This one must have been weaker than the others if my kick had an effect on it. Follow up, Hyōka, a little voice told me. My next kick, a hook kick, caught him in the ribs. This was incredible, I was actually standing up against an arrancar and winning. Maybe I could actually take this guy.

"You little..." he growled stumbling back his serpentine eyes flashed with contempt then he was standing inches in front of me his hand around my throat.

I chocked and tried kicking him again. He moved out of the way and slammed me against the side of a building. Very slowly he raised his arm so my feet dangled about a foot off the ground. My neck felt like it was going to explode from the pressure. I scrabbled at his hands feeling skin tear away with my nails but he refused to let go. Shit. I needed to do something and I needed to do it now. Black spots began to swim in and out of my vision. I was going to black out soon. I needed Ichigo. Somehow I needed to alert him to the arrancar's presence. Think, Hyōka, think!

Wait...

"_Until you learn to control your reiatsu, you'll stick out more than a purple alien in a sheep herd." _ I could practically hear the ginger telling me this.

Idiot! Of course, I could draw him here myself. I recalled the time I woke up and there was a storm going on. I tried to mimic all that I was feeling at the time and instantly the sky went dark. Wind began to blow violently and the temperature plummeted. So, my reiatsu really could affect the weather.

I didn't have much time to gloat in my success because the lack of oxygen was getting to me. Suddenly there were two arrancars chocking me and swaying back and forth. Black began to creep into the corners of my eyes. I knew I was out of the battle now. I just hoped that Ichigo reached in time.

...

I woke up nestled next to a tall body. I almost had a heart attack when I realised who it was. I sat up and scooted away from Adachi. He was just regaining consciousness as well. He rubbed his forehead and looked around.

"Where am I?" he asked obviously confused.

I recognised the room as Ichigo's bed room. But before I could say anything he yelled.

"And what the hell are we doing in the same bed?"

I heard someone giggle then the door flew open and Rangiku flounced in. She ran the length of the room and pulled me into a back-breaking hug.

"Hyōka, you had me so worried. When your reiatsu flared like that I knew something was wrong and then we find you being choked to death by an arrancar. Don't you ever do that to me again!"

"Sorry?" I coughed.

"Let him go Rangiku," I heard Ichigo say, "before you knock him unconscious again."

She reluctantly let me go. And Ichigo pulled his desk chair in front of the bed so he could sit and look at us.

"Explain you two."

I glanced at Adachi then began to talk. My voice sounded like a croak more than anything. I guess nearly being choked to death does that to you. Once we finished Ichigo turned to Rangiku his face grim.

"Can you report this to Urahara? Aizen's obviously developed a new type of arrancar. I don't like the sound of this."

She nodded and took off... jumping out of the window. I shuddered and closed my eyes suddenly feeling dizzy again.

...

Rukia had told me that I wasn't going to get any more information about shinigami or Aizen. So that meant I had to look into things myself. Which is why I found myself in the school computer lab typing as many variations for the word shinigami as I could.

The search engine came back with mostly useless sites. I growled in frustration. There had to be something on the internet about them. Maybe I should narrow down the search. I typed in 'Shinigami sightings Karakura'. This time fewer results came in. Most were sites for tourist attractions. This was hopeless. I was getting nowhere. The most useful site I found featured this nut job called Don Kanoji. There were a few external links on the site. I clicked on one under the hollow category and was brought to an official looking site... in Spanish. I sat back deflated. Maybe there really was nothing about shinigami on here. I had already disabled the safe search settings on the school computer and managed to temporally disable the monitoring software they used so I knew that my search results were not being hampered. Maybe I was searching for the wrong thing. I typed in 'ghost sightings, Japan'. Bingo. I scrolled through the results. One caught my eye because of the rough sketches that looked like hollows, complete with the hole-in-chest. I clicked on this link and grinned. This was what I had been looking for. It was the website for a small agency or group of some sort that specialised in paranormal activity, sort of like that ghost show hunter from America that played sometimes. Everything I was looking for was there. They even had pictures taken by special cameras posted on the site. I recognised the black uniform instantly. I went through the whole website reading about the types of ghosts they had classified they even referred to them by their proper names. There were pictures of menos grande, adjuchas, arrancars. It even told me about where they originated from, this place called hueco mundo. Each time I read one of the names a little bolt of electricity shot down my spine. I felt like I knew these names from somewhere. I must have read them before and never made the connection. I found myself on the page that described, in great detail, shinigami. I read through the article as fast as I could and one I reached the end I found myself wanting more. The information I got was very basic. It told me their job and where they came from and even about their attire but not much else. There were a few pictures, but they were very blurry so I couldn't discern much from them. The agency was based in Japan so maybe I could make a personal visit. I looked up the address and my heart sank into my stomach. It was in Sapporo that was ten hours away from here.

How the hell was I supposed to get to Sapporo?

...

It wasn't really hard to keep my research a secret from Ichigo and the others but he had noticed a decrease in my questions. I still asked him a couple but he had made an off-hand comment about me being less inquisitive than before. I just shrugged him off and asked him about the new type of arrancars, which caused him to rethink what he had just said. I had been spending a lot of time with Ichigo lately. Since Mikami and I had made up she forced me to come to the clinic afterschool. I didn't understand her sometimes. When I was in trouble I was given more freedom, but now I was partially off the hook and she kept closer tabs on me than before.

I had finished school for the day and was following Ichigo around trying to wear him down enough to answer my question.

"What does this mean that Aizen has made new arrancars? Is he more determined to get me than before?" I asked leaning over the front desk while Ichigo tried to read a patients file.

"One minute, Hyōka." He growled.

"You've been brushing me off for the past thirty minutes."

"Is it just me or are you extra annoying today?"

"I wouldn't have to be if you just answered my question."

He sighed and glared at me. "I don't know, Hyōka, Kisuke hasn't come up with anything yet. All we know is that there is a new type of arrancar that can selectively hide and release its reiatsu and is extremely weak physically. I don't know much more than you do at the moment."

"But why? Why did he make this type of arrancar?"

"You know the answer, don't make me say it."

He was right I did know the answer. It was so that Aizen could get to me easier. My stomach bubbled and my heart thudded heavily in my chest. It was even scarier because I didn't know why he was after me. If I knew I could stop it... maybe. I chewed my bottom lip and wrapped an arm around my waist. Maybe this was the reason for my unexplained panic attacks. The fact that I knew that a madman was after me and could come after me anytime was rather unnerving. I shivered.

"Hey, don't look at me like that." Ichigo sighed.

I blinked and glanced at him questioningly.

"What's wrong? You've been acting strange today."

I shook my head. "It's nothing."

He glanced at the file then rolled his eyes and put it away. "I know it's not 'nothing'."

"You're already doing all you can. There's not much else you can do, I mean it's not like you can predict when next Aizen is going to send an arrancar after me."

"You're stressed out by the attacks?"

"I'm not stressed by the attacks. I'm stressed out by the play and school. I'm scared of the attacks. And don't tell me not to worry. I worry anyway; a lunatic is after me, how can I not be worried? You know how many panic attacks I had yesterday? Five. That's a record."

His eyes widened. "Five? I'm sorry, Hyōka, this must be difficult for you. If only the circumstances were different..."

"I just wish I knew why he was coming after me. If I knew then maybe I could prevent it or something."

"Trust me, Hyōka, it's nothing you can help."

I narrowed my eyes. "So you know?"

"I have an idea – no I can't tell you."

"Why?"

"Because this is not some little problem. This is a life and death situation. One mistake can result in the end of life as we know it. You're not ready for this kind of knowledge; it'll kill you before you can even understand."

"You think you're protecting me by not telling me?"

"I don't think I know."

"Maybe I can help." I was getting angry now.

"No." his voice was flat. I could tell he was getting frustrated.

"Why not?"

"You're a _child_, Hyōka. I can't let you get any more involved in this. This is _war_!"

I scoffed. "I'm just as involved in this as you are, in case you were wondering."

"I know!"

"So then why can't you tell me?"

He glared at me and stood up. He seemed much taller when he was angry. But I didn't back down even though I knew if I got any more worked up I would have another anxiety attack.

"Drop it, Hyōka." he said through a clenched jaw.

"I will not. I want to know why."

"I can't tell you, just leave it at that!" he shouted banging his hand against the desk.

"You know I have a feeling you're not telling me just for your own selfish reasons!"

His eyes flashed dangerously. And I was suddenly a few steps closer to an attack. I could feel myself starting to hyperventilate.

"Say that one more time. I've done everything possible to keep you safe! I have reasons but they're not my own! Do you know how hard it is for _me_ to see you like this? Every time an arrancar appears I worry if I will reach in time to save you! When you wake up screaming from those dreams, do you know how much I wish I could do something to stop them? And don't even get me started about your anxiety; it pains me to see you like that! So don't you dare say what I'm doing is selfish! – shit Takemitsu Hyōka, Breathe!"

I was doubled over clutching the side of the desk gasping for air. Ichigo growled and scooped me into his arms. Before the attack could really start I felt myself being cocooned in gentle warm pressure. Instantly my breathing slowed and I felt calmer. I opened my eyes. Ichigo was holding me in his lap. His expression had changed to anger to worry. I swallowed my guilt. He had been working endlessly to keep me safe. I hadn't realised that he was every bit stressed out as I was.

"I'm sorry." he whispered. "I didn't mean to yell."

"It's not your fault, its mine." I paused. "How do you do that? Every time you're here I feel calm."

"Oh, you picked up on that..."

"It's would be kind of difficult not to."

"It's my reiatsu. The first time I saw you having a panic attack I kinda freaked out and my control slipped. The next thing I knew you were calming down so I just let my reiatsu seep out a bit more. I tried it another time just to see if it was a coincidence or not."

"Oh, thanks I guess." All of a sudden I felt drained. Like everything, the play, school, the arrancars, the dreams and my lack of sleep just caught up to me.

"You know you can take a nap if you're tired, right?"

I raised an eyebrow, "I'll go to sleep when you do." I traced the faint circles under his eyes with my gaze.

He seemed shocked but soon enough he began to laugh. "Are you bribing me?"

"If you consider that a bribe."

"Fine, I'll sic Renji on you if anything happens tonight." he chuckled and ruffled my hair. I tiredly batted his hand away.

...

"Christmas shopping?" I asked Kasai over the phone.

"Yeah, Kazu and I are going to the mall today. You should come, we haven't hung out in a while." She answered. "Plus Christmas is in two weeks. Don't tell me you forgot about that."

I sighed I actually had forgotten about it. But I had my reasons. The play had been talking up all my time for the past few weeks. Opening night was precisely one week and three days away. Yamasaki-sensei had been like a slave driver lately. Not to mention the fact that I had also been running from hollows on countless occasions. With the new breed of arrancar, Renji and Rangiku had been tailing me endlessly. I knew it was for my own good but those two were exasperating. Thank god no one else could see them though. Also end of term exams were coming up. I had managed to catch up on the three weeks of work I had missed, but that still did not make it any easier. If I added up all the times I ended up missing class because of a stupid panic attack it would have added up to almost a full week. So needless to say more than a few things had slipped my mind.

".. Well if you don't want to come, just say so. You don't have to ignore me." Kasai huffed. And I realised that she had been speaking for some time.

"No, I'll ask Mikami if I can come. I was supposed to be studying today, though."

"You're such a nerd. Call me back after you talk to her."

Mikami reluctantly agreed, but only because I had been cooped up in the apartment for most of the weekend and thought I deserved a break. The only catch was that Rangiku was coming with me; for security purposes, of course, but I had a strong feeling that she wanted to do some shopping as well.

We met up with Kasai and Ariwa around half an hour later at the Kurakara Mall. Rangiku introduced herself as my aunt from abroad. When she turned around to admire a jacket in a display window Kasai leaned over to me and snickered something about being babysat. Ariwa just chuckled when he overheard.

After a few minutes Kasai and Rangiku hit it off. Then the rest of our day consisted of Ariwa and I following the two women around endless clothing, jewelry and make-up stores. I knew Kasai was well-off. Her father was the CEO of some huge electronic company and her mother, who sent her a generous allowance every month, was a well-to-do model. So it didn't surprise me when she came out of almost every store with two or three new shopping bags. It wasn't that Kasai was really girly, but I knew she loved spending money. So Ariwa and I found ourselves sitting on a pink fluffy bench waiting for the two women in the changing rooms.

"I don't understand why they always go crazy over clothes." Ariwa sighed, "It's like a switch or something in their brains that turns on this need to buy whenever they see a store. This was supposed to be Christmas shopping."

I chuckled. "How about we ditch them?"

"And have Chou hunt us down like a dog? No thanks."

Just then we heard the click of heals on the tiled floor and the creak as one of the changing room stalls opened.

"I guess they're do..." Ariwa trailed off and I felt him tense beside me.

Confused I looked up. Kasai was walking towards us. I had to admit she looked rather good. She was wearing a layered strapless red dress and a pair of strappy gold heels. I blinked.

"Well, what do you think?" She demanded stopping in front of us.

Ariwa was staring at her with his mouth open. I'm sure she was going for that reaction. I smirked.

"Not bad." I shrugged.

She scowled at me. "I kinda need more than that, Hyōka."

"I thought we were supposed to be Christmas shopping."

"This is Christmas shopping. I need a dress for a Christmas dinner with my mom. So, what do you think?"

"Why don't you ask Rangiku?"

"I did, she wants me to get a guy's opinion."

I sighed and studied her. Well the dress did look nice on her. I felt myself blush from looking so hard. So I raised my gaze away from her body to her face. Her hair was different, I noticed suddenly. The multicoloured streaks were gone and the whole thing was a golden brown colour, except for the ends which were sandy blonde. I frowned; it now looked vaguely similar to the girl Ariwa had a crush on.

"You dyed your hair?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes. Two days ago. Now focus, Hyōka, the dress."

I shrugged and nudged Ariwa he seemed to snap out of a daze. "What do you think?"

"It's nice, you should get it." he muttered, his face taking on a reddish tinge.

Kasai huffed, "You two are hopeless." But I swore I saw a faint smile on her lips as she left.

In that instant I knew Rangiku had picked out that dress for her on purpose. I grinned and turned to Ariwa, who was shaking his head in disbelief.

"What?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Do you think she's pretty?"

"Yeah I guess. Why?"

He took a deep breath. "If you tell her I'll kill you. I think I like her."

I blinked. "When did-"

"Well, with you at play rehearsals and being sick and missing so much school, we've been spending a lot of time together and well... yeah. It's not weird to like your best friend is it?"

I snorted. "Better her than me."

He scowled and punched me in the arm.

At the end of the day, I ended up buying presents for my family and Ichigo. I had got Mikami some perfume, Teito was going to get a book by his favourite author. Ichigo had stumped me. I had no idea what to get him. But eventually I got him some chocolate, the really expensive kind because I knew he loved those, and as a joke a leather bracelet with a silver charm in the shape of a western style shinigami – a grim reaper. I decided I would get gifts for Kasai, Ariwa and Rangiku, and maybe Renji later.

...

_I sighed and sat down in a pile of snow. Light flurries blew around me. I stared up into the dark sky and watched as the little white flakes drifted downwards. It was relaxing to just sit here and watch it snow. I don't know why, I just felt at ease. I felt my eyelids begin to droop._

_Concentrate._

_My eyes snapped open. Of course there was still that voice. I had yet to figure out what it was. It kept on telling me to listen and to pay attention, but I didn't know to what. I huffed and threw an armful of snow into the air._

"_I don't understand you!" I exclaimed in frustration._

_Suddenly a harsh wind blew sending my shirt up into my face. When I managed to pull it down I swore I saw the shape of a person running off into the distance. Immediately I was on my feet running after them. If that was the person telling me these things I would damn well get an answer out of them. I felt my sneakers and the ends of my pants turn damp as snow was crushed beneath my feet. _

"_Wait!" I yelled._

_I could just see the silhouette. The person stopped and I presumed waited for me to come closer. I was near enough now to determine that it was a boy, a very young boy at that. He was probably only slightly taller than me, I couldn't see his face though but I could see that he was wearing the same black uniform as Ichigo and the other shinigami. I froze._

"_Who are you?" _

_The boy turned and I suddenly felt waves of irritation emanate from him. The wind began to pick up and the snow began to fall faster. In less than seconds I couldn't see a foot in front of my face. The wind howled with such ferocity that it sounded like an animal. Like a dragon or something. I instantly wished that I had Hyourinmaru with me. _

_Then there was laughing. A childish laughing... that sounded eerily like my own. My eyes widened. _

"_He's trying to tell you to meditate. It's the only way you're going to get all of this to stop." The voice sounded very familiar. It belonged to a child, that was for sure but it was hard and emotionless. It had to belong to the boy I had seen earlier. _

_The wind died down and the falling snow thinned out. I sat back down. Meditate? I guess it was worth a shot. _

When I woke up the room was freezing as per usual. A thin layer of frost covered my blanket almost everything else in the room. I sat up shivering violently. I really needed to learn to control this somehow; I was going to kill myself sooner or later with this cold. I grabbed hyourinmaru and went to the living room. The clock on the dvd player read 3:30am I sighed, I had a lot of time to meditate before school.

...

"Ichigo?"

"Yeah?"

"How do you control reiatsu?"

He glanced at me with a frown on his face. "Why?"

I shrugged. "It's seems useful. I mean I won't have to wake up freezing my butt off every morning."

"Just turn the heater up."

"Doesn't work. I tried."

"It never bothered you before. Why now?"

He had a point. I loved the cold no matter how bone chilling it was. I could still sleep even if the room was sub-zero, I was only slightly more difficult than normal and I would just wake up as a human-popsicle the next morning, with a severe case of hypothermia, which I would prefer not to. "It's the dreams. A voice told me that meditation was the key to controlling this."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "A voice?"

"Well, it was a boy. About my age and height, maybe a little taller."

Ichigo frowned. "Give me a few days, I'll tell you what to do then."

"Why can't you tell me now?"

"Because I'm not sure if what I tell you will be harmful to you and everyone else or if it will actually work."

I nodded. It was an answer I could live with. Plus I had emailed the ghost agency in Sapporo the other day. If they got back to me then I would be finding out things Ichigo had never even dreamed of telling me.

* * *

**Well, as I said nothing much happened, except Hyoka trying to crack the shinigami secret and getting one tiny step closer to figuring out his past... I wonder if anyone can figure out what's going on in the dreams...**

**Anyway constructive critisim is welcome... stop by to drop a line :) Please**

**-Mymomomo**


	19. Chapter 19

**Sorry this is soooo delayed. I thought I would have more time between exam studying and what not, but I ended up having no time at all. **

**Then came all the stress preparing for graduation, after which my family wanted to spend some time together. But now after a 5 hour flight home trying to reacquaint myself with some of my old friends and an unexpected car accident I finally have this chapter finished. **

**It's a bit of a pre-climax sort of thing... hope you enjoy :)**

**I also don't remember if I replied to any reviews the last time so I'm going to do my replies here (again)**

**p****unk lolita23: Yes Aizen is coming VERY soon **

**azure blue espeon: you guessed correctly, but there is more to what is going to come**

**Kaiser969: Thanks, and I believe that Matsumoto should come with a warning sign sometimes. **

**Crazy Cor: Thanks, and sorry for the long wait **

**Stelra Etnae: Thanks for the encouragement, I'm glad you're enjoying it **

**Soaha: Yes, in a nutshell, but a few more important details are going to be disclosed soon**

**akinos: I'm glad that you did take your time to read this even though it clearly isn't your 'style'. but don't fear, as you can see I have not given it up. As for parings... I'm not too sure what's going to happen either, we'll just see how it plays out. **

* * *

"You recorded it?" I asked in disbelief.

Chou nodded with a cheeky grin on her face. I groaned and buried my head in my hands. Ariwa was away at a soccer game so it was just me and Kasai sitting in our usual lunch spot that afternoon.

"Why?"

She reached over and ruffled my hair. "Because you looked so cute in those pantaloons and doublet, I just couldn't help myself, Koko-chan."

I growled and slapped her hand away. "One, don't call me that. Two, get rid of that video now."

"Nope. I think Mikami would love to keep it. I'm going to make her a copy."

"Don't you dare! I wasn't even that good, do you know how many times I messed up my lines?"

"Wasn't that noticeable, until I saw Yamasaki-sensei burry his head in shame. Actually what was wrong with you that day, don't you have a photography memory or something?"

"Photographic memory and I don't know, I was distracted..."

"You seem very distracted lately. Kazu told me you nearly failed a maths quiz the other day."

I sighed. "That's not what happened; I would never _almost fail _a maths test. We were being timed and I didn't feel so good so I left before I could finish, unfortunately my mark was still recoded. He overheard me complaining about it to Hamada-sensei."

She sighed. "Just take it easy, Hyōka. The play's done and over with, you can relax a bit now."

I rubbed my forehead. "I wish I could, Kasai, but I can't. Do you know that Hamada-sensei entered me in a nationwide maths competition? Preliminary rounds start one week after school re-opens; I can't sit down and rest. Do you know what kind of people take part in these competitions? Mathematical and scientific geniuses, nerds, the kind of people who can graduate high school at twelve. I'm not going up there to embarrass myself."

"You mean people like you? Don't sweat it. You have the highest marks in your class, in fact our whole grade. And with the amount of school you missed that's saying something."

I wasn't comforted in the slightest. Why did things like this always seem to pile up on me?

...

"Do you think you'll be well enough to go tonight?" Mikami asked as she held up a thermometer. "You don't have a fever anymore but, still."

I nodded. "I'll be fine."

She didn't look like she believed me. "Okay, but I want you to rest now. I'll wake you up when it's time to get ready."

I sighed and pulled the sheets up to my neck. I had been in bed for majority of the day. My limbs hurt, my head hurt and small shivers wracked my body. It was nothing big though, I had been in much worse states before.

I had tried the meditating thing, which the boy in my dream had said. I hadn't seen him since so I couldn't ask what I was supposed to be concentrating on. I had been up until three o'clock last night, not because I couldn't sleep but because I was trying to 'meditate'. I had figured that since I had gotten the notion from the dream I should be concentrating on the dream. Focusing had never been a problem for me so I had literally sat cross-legged on my bed thinking of the plain of ice for nearly four hours. Nothing had happened. Drying paint would have been more interesting. And it made it worse that I was the one forcing myself to do such a torturous activity. I sighed, the things I did in my spear time...

I would have deemed the meditation a failure if it wasn't for the dream that ensued. I actually didn't know when I fell asleep but suddenly there was something talking to me. The voice was faint I had to strain to hear it. I couldn't remember what it said exactly. But I woke up with Hyourinmaru's name on my tongue... and a fever. For the remainder of the day as I slipped in and out of feverish haze I dreamt that Hyourinmaru was alive; that his plush fur had transformed into scales of ice, his snake-like body stretched over fifty feet long and his button eyes shone like rubies. He was talking to me, his voice like thunder, but all of it was jumbled up and when I blinked he was a stuffed animal again. Then I think I had an out of body experience, I'm not too sure because I was staring at myself except not quite. I was dressed in a shinigami uniform and there were a few subtle differences in my overall appearance which I couldn't place my finger on. But I think that all this was the fever taking over my mind.

"Hey, Koko-chan," I turned my head slowly. Teito stood in the doorway. "Kurosaki-san said that you could bring your presents over if you wanted, since you didn't get a chance to open them this morning."

"What? Oh, it's Christmas today, isn't it?"

He chuckled. "I have no idea how someone as smart as you can get dates so confused. So do you want to bring them?"

"Yeah sure."

Teito smiled and left. "Merry Christmas by the way." he called over his shoulder.

I muttered a reply. I could not believe that I got sick on Christmas. What a way to spend the happiest day of the year.

...

"Aww, Hyōka you're so sweet. Thank you." Rangiku squealed pulling me into a hug.

"You're welcome." I muttered feeling heat rise to my cheeks.

"Open mine next!" she exclaimed shoving a rather crudely wrapped package into my arms.

I sighed and slowly ripped off the paper. My jaw dropped. Out of all the shinigami Rangiku was by far the slackest one. She let little things slip, whether on purpose or not, I didn't know but I had a feeling that she wanted me to know some things that the others were trying to hide from me. Her present confirmed my theory. It was an old book the pages were yellowing and it looked worse for wear but I didn't care. It was a book about Shinigami, to be more specific about the 'afterlife'. I quickly flipped through a couple of pages. I picked up on a few key words like Soul Society, and hollows. I was going to have some fun with this later. I looked up still in amazement that she would completely disregard what the others were trying to do. She winked at me and mouthed, 'don't tell the others.'

I nodded and quietly set it down next to my admittedly large pile of presents and glanced at the other shinigami. Ichigo was sitting on the couch in a daze with a half empty cup of sake in his hand. Rukia was half-asleep her head resting on his shoulder. Mikami was in the kitchen helping Yuzu to clean up and Renji was busy talking to Teito. Apparently he was enthused that there was someone else just as freakishly tall as him. The book was safe for now.

"Where did you get this?" I asked.

She smiled. "Let's just say I have sources."

"Why? Why aren't you determined to hide things from me like the others?"

"I don't really care much for rules, never have."

I frowned. "But you're a captain..."

"What does that have to do with anything? Plus it's not like I told you anything, so technically I haven't broken any rules."

I shook my head.

"Anyway, I'm leaving tomorrow. Think of it as my parting gift."

"What? why?"

"I got ratted out, go figure. The boss wasn't too happy."

"Is Abarai going back too?"

She nodded. "He needs to report back. Anyway, I might not see you before I leave tomorrow, so..."

She pulled me into a tight hug. And I felt a pang in my stomach, almost as if I didn't want her to leave. I frowned; I had only known Rangiku for a little more than a month. It wasn't as if we were close or anything. Still, I was reluctant to let her go, who knows what trouble she would get into without me there... wait, what? I small shiver ran up my spine. What was I talking about? She was a grown woman, and a captain at that. Why did I suddenly feel the need to babysit? I shook my head trying to disperse the feeling.

"Will I ever see you again?"

She smiled sweetly. "Sooner than you think. Even if I have to sneak out to see you."

...

_Hyōka, it's time to wake up. _

A cool hand was placed on my forehead. My eyes snapped open and for a split second I saw a pair of red eyes staring at me. I blinked and sat up rubbing my eyes. Someone had drawn back the curtains sun light streamed into the bedroom. It must have been nearly midday by now. I glanced at the clock, it was almost eleven. This was the latest I had slept in, well forever. I was just about to swing my legs over the side of the bed but froze. This was Ichigo's room. What the hell was I doing sleeping in Ichigo's room? I thought back to last night. There was the Christmas party. It was late almost everyone had gone home and no one noticed when I had brought the book Rangiku gave me into the bathroom to start reading. I had opened to the first chapter then... I had woken up. Shit. This wasn't good. If I had passed out then that meant that they had found me and most likely the book. And then Ichigo and Mikami had probably pronounced me sick and made me stay the night at the clinic. Shit. I brought my hands up to rub my temples and drew them back wet. It was then I realised that I was drenched in cold sweat. I peeled the sheets back from my legs and swung them over the edge of the bed. Things were just getting stranger by the second. First panic attacks then memory lapses, now what?

Apparently I spoke too soon. As soon as my feet touched the floor what felt like cold shocks of electricity shoot from my toes to my skull. I jumped slightly and drew my feet back up to the bed. What the hell? I peered over the side of the bed. There was a circle of ice surrounding the bed and frost was climbing up the legs. I blinked unbelievingly. The ice was starting to melt, it glistened in the sunlight. But where the hell had it come from? Ichigo had said that my reiatsu could control weather, but to make ice? This was just plain out freaky.

I sighed again. Freaky was pretty much the story of my life. I stretched, wondering how I was supposed to explain this, much less to get off the bed without giving myself frostbite. The ice extended at least five feet in all directions. I couldn't jump that far so I was basically trapped on the bed. Wonderful.

But then... wait a second. I couldn't get off the bed, no one could get to me and I was the only one in the room. Who the hell had woke me up?

A chilly breeze rustled the curtains before the door swung open and Ichigo and Rukia marched in. Neither of them looked too happy. Ichigo was stifling a yawn but literally froze when he saw the ice surrounding his bed. He glanced from me to the ice then to Rukia then back to me, with his mouth hanging open like a dead fish. Rukia reacted first after blinking confusedly at the ice she experimentally placed the edge of her waraji on it. To everyone's surprise frost began to creep up her foot. She drew it back instantly then turned to me.

"Hyōka, how-"

"I don't know." I cut her off. "I didn't even know I could do this. What the hell is going on?"

"I think we should be asking you that. How long will it take for this ice to melt?" Ichigo muttered more to himself than anyone else.

Rukia rolled her eyes and suddenly she vanished into thin air. The next second she was kneeling next to me on the bed. I squeaked, yes squeaked, in shock and nearly fell off the bed. She just grinned.

"I suppose you can't get off this either."

I shook my head.

"Interesting. Ichigo, we'll have to take him to Kisuke again."

She then scooped me up in her arms. One second I was on the bed next I was standing next to Ichigo. I stumbled forward as my legs refused to work and would have gone crashing to the floor if she hadn't grabbed me by the shoulders. The world spun for a second. I blinked a few times trying to stop my head from swimming.

"What the... how did you do that? What _was_ that?"

"It's called shunpo. Just another form of movement, basically."

"Now," Ichigo turned our attention to himself, "you need to give us an explanation."

"About what?" I asked praying that he hadn't found out about the book. "I already told you I don't know how this ice got here, I just woke up and-"

"About last night."

Shit. "What do you mean?"

He raised an eyebrow warningly. "Stop beating around the bush. Last night you... that was the worst panic attack I've seen yet. Hyōka, you were having a seizure, vomiting and coughing up blood. Not to mention you didn't respond to stimuli for a good two hours afterwards. I know you've been having these 'trigger-less' attacks recently, but I do know that this was not one of them. Now tell me, what you were doing in that bathroom."

"Nothing. I wasn't doing anything." I lied. So, he hadn't found the book. That was good news.

He glared at me. "Stop lying. You couldn't possibly be doing 'nothing' to bring on an attack of that magnitude."

"Well, what do you want me to say? Fine I was doing something; I was breathing, probably digesting dinner and doing what people normally do in bathrooms."

"Enough with those smartass comebacks. I'm serious, _what were you doing_?"

"Nothing." I stared him straight in the eye.

He stared right back at me. Eventually he sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "Fine, but this just means that I'll be watching you more closely from now on."

"I can take care of myself you know. I know how to handle my panic attacks. I've had them for all my life." I folded my arms across my chest.

I had resigned myself to the fact that I was basically babysat twenty-four-seven. But I would not allow Ichigo to breathe down my neck for the whole day. I had better things to do and I'm sure so did he.

"I'm sure you know how to handle yourself when you're conscious. It's when you faint and start hacking up your lungs is what I'm worried about."

...

Christmas holidays flew by pretty fast. I didn't do much besides lounge around the apartment. Both Ariwa and Kasai had left for the break even Adachi seemed pretty busy, though he had stopped by the apartment a few times for me to help him with his reading. Ichigo had been coming over a lot as well. The clinic didn't close for the holidays but his hours were shortened considerably. So I found myself doing everything from watching movies to going for walks and even cooking with Ichigo – the guy was a pretty decent cook, surprisingly. Teito had come home one day and nearly had a heart attack when he saw us using his new wok and steamer. I would have liked to think that it was because of the hollow problem that Ichigo was spending so much time with me, but the more time we spent together the more I found myself liking him. If he wasn't almost seventeen years older than me we would have been something close to best friends. Our little excursions were interrupted regularly by arrancars but since he was always close on hand they took little time to get rid of.

But apart from Ichigo my time was split between reading Rangiku's book, meditating and preparing for the maths competition. Everytime Mikami and Teito poked their heads into my room I was pouring over some book or other with my earphones in. They even threatened to take away my books if I didn't stop studying. So I order to please them I brought my books with me to bed. Call me paranoid but I was not going to lose this competition. I knew I was pretty smart but I was not ready to rely on natural smarts to win a competition against Japan's brightest. That, and I hadn't even made a dent in Rangiku's book yet. I had taken to calling it that because the name on the cover had worn off ages ago.

It might have been all the reading I had been doing or my meditation but now when I dreamt of the plain of ice I felt calm, almost as though it was just a part of life or something. I found that the plain itself was the best place for meditating as well. I never saw the boy again but the voice in the wind was now almost discernible. I had woken one morning with Hyourinmaru's name running around in my head and my whole room covered in a layer of frost thicker than it had ever been. Ichigo said that there had been more hollows than usual that night.

But now Christmas vacation was over and I was back in school. The first thing Kasai had said to me was 'didn't you get any rest at all? You can give a panda a run for its money with those bags.' Even Ariwa admitted that I was a mess. I was tired, I did not deny that and all I wanted was a good night's sleep. But no, stupid dreams and stupid hollows prevented me from getting more than a couple hours at a time. It was a wonder I was able to stay up during the day at all. Actually scratch that, there was no way I was going to be able to stay up during the maths class this morning. I had covered the new topic on my own over the break. I propped my chin up on my hand and willed myself not to fall asleep. I should have known that that never worked.

_I ran through a small pathway with my hands over my head. Sticks, stones and anything hard rained down over me. I had no idea what I did to make the other kids hate me so. I felt a rather large stone hit my left shoulder and I stumbled to the ground with a cry. I clutched my shoulder with my other arm feeling a bump begin to rise and red hot throbbing throughout my back and left arm. Trying to block out the pain I raise my head to see a gang of five or so boys march up to me carrying rocks, broken tree branches, cracking their knuckles and laughing. I blinked back my tears and attempted to run away but I had barely got to my feet when a hand grabbed me by the neck and shoved me into the ground. The first blow came with such force that I couldn't even cry out I just tasted blood and hoped that my jaw wasn't broken. The next one was –_

I blinked and jolted awake. My heart was pounding in my chest and I felt sweat dripping down my back. I took a few shaky breaths as I felt bile rise in my stomach.

"Sensei, I think he's having a panic attack!" a girl to my right exclaimed.

Suddenly the whole class was on edge; I could feel it. A few students scooted away from me. I tried to ignore them, to block everything out and just concentrate on my breathing but the room began to spin, slowly at first but then it began to pick up speed. I clutched the sides of my desk shuddering with each breath, it felt as though there were a million and one eyes on me judging my every movement. And I knew exactly what they were all thinking; I was a freak. This type of attention was the last thing I wanted when I was seconds away from having a panic attack. So I did what I always told myself not to do when I had an anxiety attack, what I had been trying not to do ever since I was diagnosed with anxiety; I panicked. It was like a rush of adrenalin. I don't quite remember what happened; one minute I was in the classroom, there was a blur of colours and noises then I was in the bathroom leaning over the counter.

Okay, Hyōka, calm down. At least this was one of my milder attacks, I was still aware of my surroundings. I took deep even breaths even as I felt the panic begin to ebb away. Eventually I was back to normal albeit trembling like I had pneumonia but normal. What the hell was that dream? Usually I could only remember bits and pieces of one of my dreams, but this time it was like a movie playing in my head. I could actually feel my cheek throbbing and I could almost taste blood in my mouth. And if I was going on what Kisuke had said when we first met, then I was just 'remembering' a time when I was beat up. The fact in itself was nothing new, getting into fights was a regular occurrence back in Tokyo and I had my fair share of... tussles with Adachi in Karakura. Could I have possibly been thinking of one of those times? I paused and rubbed my cheek. No I couldn't have been. They were coming at me with sticks. I had always lived in a city.

I sighed. What the hell was wrong with me? My brain was coming up with memories that I never actually had. It was like I was seeing someone else's life unfurl before my eyes – wait. I froze. I remembered reading something about a soul cycle in the book Rangiku gave me. What if _I_ was one of those 'recycled' souls... maybe this was what Ichigo and the others were trying to hide from me. It made sense if I thought about it. I couldn't believe that it had taken me so long to figure out what these 'dreams' actually meant. Everything added up now, how could I have not noticed it before? But then what was with all the secrecy? According to the book souls were 'recycled' all the time; there was no need to try to keep me in the dark. There had to be another reason. My stomach had slowly been inching itself closer to my feet, and now it was somewhere by my knees. I needed to get to the bottom of this. If there was someone else's memories in my head I wanted to know who that person was.

I reached a shaky hand into my pants pocket and pulled out my cell phone. As I dialed the number and waited for an answer I stared at the mirror. _Souls pass through cycles; existing both in life and the afterlife. _The line from Rangiku's book ran around in my head. So there was a dead guy in my head, to put it mildly. I had existed as another person in a different life. I stared at my reflection. Did he look like me or were we completely different? Was he even a guy? And why the hell was Ichigo trying so hard to keep me from-

"_Sapporo Agency of Paranormal Activity, how may I help you?"_

I took a deep breath trying to steady myself. "Hi, I... um," I did not like how much my voice was shaking, so I paused and cleared my throat. "I sent an email around two weeks ago, inquiring about the information you had about shinigami. Do you disclose the kind of information to the public?"

"_We get tonnes of inquiries every day, what's your name?"_

"Takemitsu Hyōka."

"_Okay, we'll get back to you-"_

"No wait! This is important, I need to crosscheck some information about shinigamis and this is the only agency in Japan that has what I need. I could tell from your website that you have collected a fair amount of files on shinigami, and I need to have access to this information."

"_... You've seen shinigami before?"_

"...Yes, many times."

There was a long pause on the other end. _"We can grant you access to our archives but you will have to book an appointment. May I ask what it is you're specifically interested in?"_

"Reincarnation."

"_We have a few guys who could assist you in that case. I'll notify them. Is Friday at 6:30pm a good time for you?"_

Friday? I needed to find a way to Sapporo pronto. "Yes that's fine thank you." I hung up and went back to leaning over the sink.

It was an eight hour drive by bus to Sapporo. And bus tickets weren't exactly cheap. How the hell was I going to do this? I sighed; it was already Tuesday, which meant that I only had four days to pull this all together.

...

I watched unblinkingly as a middle-aged man got up from his seat to pay for his meal at the counter. He looked pretty well off, if I went by his suit. The situation was perfect. The dinner was almost empty and the cashier looked like a college dropout with not enough muscle mass to lift up a spoon plus he was distracted reading some disturbing looking manga. All I needed was to pluck up the courage. I took a deep breath reminding myself why I was even here. The need I felt to go to Sapporo outweighed all of the consequences. I pulled the hood of my coat over my head and eyed the business man from under the edge of the lining. I waited until he had his wallet out and was going to pull out his money. I got up quickly and stood behind him.

"Excuse me sir your shoe lace is untied." I said.

He muttered thanks. Then placed his wallet on the counter and stooped down to tie his shoe. I took another deep breath. The things I did to satiate my curiosity. My heart was beating like a kettle drum as I reached out grabbed the wallet from the counter and pelted out of the dinner. The man stood up realising that his shoes didn't even have laces and tried to grab at me, but he missed. I didn't look it but I was pretty quick if I say so myself. As soon as I left the building I tore open the wallet and pulled out all the cash I could find. I stuffed all the bills in my pocket and tossed the wallet to the side. I was already halfway down the street when I heard an angry voice yelling, 'thief, stop him!' for once in my life I was thankful for both my small size and the rather large crowd that enveloped me as I left the dinner. I lost the man in less than five minutes.

I trotted into an alleyway and leaned against the side of a building to catch my breath. I couldn't believe what I had just done. If Mikami ever found out I might as well start digging my own grave. I have to admit that I have done some pretty deplorable things before. Sure I got into fights, yes I was rude, I'll even admit to badmouthing teachers. But this was the first time I had ever done something illegal. The money felt like it was going to burn a hole in my pocket. Maybe I should go find the man and give it back. I bit the inside of my cheek, no. I needed to get to Sapporo and this was the only way I could get the money, conscience be damned. Plus if I did go back he would most likely call the police then Teito would get involved then Mikami. And then I would never in a million years get to Sapporo.

...

"You need to get some sleep, Hyōka. Pretty soon your body is going to shut down." Hagino sighed regarding me softly from the other side of the room.

I barely turned my gaze away from the painting on the wall next to me. Things had gotten a bit out of hand recently. The school had called Mikami because I skipped yesterday. They also told her that I needed to do something about my anxiety because I was scaring the other children. The subject of Hagino had then come up and Mikami had found out that I hadn't been going to my sessions in more than a month. She had personally seen to it that I went to Hagino's office that day. And now the woman had the audacity to berate me on my health. I was not going to make things easy for her.

"The voices tell me not to sleep." I spat.

"Voices?"

"I'm schizophrenic, remember?"

She blinked then took off her glasses and rubbed her temples. "You obviously feel betrayed by my diagnosis-"

"I don't have anything to say to you anymore."

She seemed shocked by my bluntness. "I – Hyōka, I'm sorry. I want to fix our relationship, but we _both_ have to be willing to get past this."

I continued to stare at the painting. She could talk to the walls if she wanted to, but I would have nothing to do with her anymore. Eventually she gave up and rose from her chair.

"I'm not giving up on you, Hyōka, but I think that this is enough for the day. I'll call your sister to pick you up now."

Surprisingly it was Ichigo who came to pick me up. I was still so ticked off that I brushed past him when he grinned at me to say hi. That was strike one. His grin fell into a slight frown.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

I just glared at him. He sighed and turned to Hagino. I tuned them out and made to exit the room. Strike two.

"Hyōka, Hagino-san is telling you goodbye." Ichigo said warningly, holding me back.

"I know."

"Don't you have something to say?"

"No." Strike three.

Ichigo blinked slowly as if he didn't understand me. Suddenly a hand was clamped painfully tight around my upper arm and I was forced to turn around.

"Don't you have something to say to Hagino-san before we leave?" he said through gritted teeth.

I tried to yank my arm from his grasp but his grip tightened. There was going to be a huge bruise on my arm later. I bit the inside of my cheek then muttered a quick goodbye to Hagino. Ichigo then bodily dragged me out off the office. Rudeness was a big no no with Ichigo and I had pretty much just signed my death warrant with that just now.

"What was _that_?" he exploded as soon as we left the building.

"I don't like her anymore."

"You don't like her?" he exclaimed in disbelief. "I don't know where you got this idea that you can treat your elders as equals. I know Mikami and Teito did not bring you up this way. You are going to apologise when next you see her."

"Yeah, as soon as she apologises for disregarding doctor-patient protocol and wrongly diagnosing me as schizophrenic. And let me go goddamnit, it _hurts_."

* * *

**Yeah, I know abrupt ending, but my brain refused to come up with anything else for this chapter. I promise the next one will be out much sooner. Thank God for summer, eh?**

**I finally got to the interesting part more or less and it's sort of a roller coaster from now one. Thank you guys for all your patience with my slower than slow updating. **

**review?**

**- Mymomomo (wow, almost signed my real name... shows how long I haven't been on here :/ )**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hi everyone**! **sorry about the slow update again, life has been kinda hectic... I need to learn how to say no to people sigh. Anyway thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and I hope you enjoy this one as well. **

* * *

I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check the time but the screen stared blankly at me. I forgot I had turned it off. I didn't want anyone calling me right now, or for the next eight hours that is. I leaned back in the bus seat. School would be finishing around now; Mikami would soon notice that I was missing. I wonder if the school had already called her, when I hadn't shown up this morning. I had even made sure that Ichigo hadn't been following me. Turns out that he never actually tailed me, he just kept close tabs on my reiatsu levels and sprinted to my side if he thought anything went wrong. That's why he always came at the very last moment to save my behind... the idiot. Hopefully it would take him some time to get to Sapporo if he sensed anything wrong.

I was five hours into my eight hour trip and boredom was slowly creeping up on me. I had finished the book that was supposed to take me the entire trip and my ipod was dead. The only other option was to sleep and that never went too well. So I stared out the window as the scenery rolled by. This had all better be worth it. I was going to get into so much trouble when I got back home. So, the information I came up with should be close to gold. But anything would be close to gold with the amount of things I had found out already. I smiled smugly; Ichigo was going to be in for a surprise later. And now I would actually be able to help in this so called war. They said that knowledge was the key to success, so it made sense the more I knew the better odds we would have in this war, right?

There was a deep chuckle from the seat behind me. I glanced over my shoulder; strange, the man behind me was fast asleep. I shook my head; it probably had just been the wind.

...

I hated winter for this one reason, it got dark so fast. It was only six and the sun was already long gone. The street lights were on and the sidewalks and roads were full of people making their way home from work. I had forgotten how busy a big city could be, it kind of made me miss Tokyo for a minute. I did miss fast paced city life, how no one really seemed to care about what you did. In Karakura everybody was always minding other people's business and if I knew more people I'm sure I would have seen familiar faces everywhere I turned. The slowness of it all kind of annoyed me, but I kept quiet because Mikami and Teito seemed to love it. Suddenly someone bumped into me causing me to stumble into the side of a building. Never mind cities could go screw themselves for all I cared. I huffed and straightened my coat, stupid inconsiderate city people.

It took me twenty minutes to find the agency headquarters. I had memorised the map, but I had failed to take into consideration how difficult it would be to find landmarks when I could barely see over people's heads during rush hour. I pushed open the glass door and stomped on the mat to shake off the snow on my shoes. There was a woman sitting at the front desk with lime green hair a leather jacket filing her back nails. Way to fit the stereotype, I thought rolling my eyes.

"Can I help you?" she asked as I walked up to the counter. "Have you lost your parents?"

I chocked down a curse and glared at her. "No, thank-you I'm not lost. I have an appointment at 6:30 today."

She raised an eyebrow obviously shocked. "Oh, what's your name?"

"Takemitsu Hyōka."

"How old are you?"

"I don't think that's a required question."

Her eyebrows shot up to her forehead and she clicker her tongue in annoyance. "The archives are back here, you can look through what you want just don't touch the computer."

She pointed over her shoulder to a metal door with a handmade sign saying ghost room or something like that. The so called archives was a small room smaller than my classroom with file cabinets taking up one wall an outdated computer placed in the middle of the room, old movie posters about ghosts and aliens covered most of the walls as well as what looked like self taken photographs. The one window was boarded up and covered with black drapes. I sighed; I had let my expectations once again get ahead of me. I would be lucky if I found anything useful here at all. This just seemed to be a nest for a bunch of lunatics. I slowly walked over to the filing cabinet and scanned through the labels. Fortunately they had a whole drawer dedicated to shinigami. I opened it and ran my fingers along the yellowing manila folders. The file names ranged from things like basic information, weapons, sightings and types. I pulled out all I could and moved them over to a spare table.

Basic information was just that; basic. I knew most of it already. It talked about uniforms and duties and minimal things like that. Weapons were a bit more interesting. I had gathered that they fought with swords, but what I didn't know was that the sword was _alive_. They considered them to be extensions of their very own souls. A shiver ran up my spine and a cold breeze rustled the curtains. I raised an eyebrow; maybe someone had opened a door or something. Creepy, I reached for Hyourinmaru in my bag pack. The next page made me freeze. Each sword called a zanpakuto had a name and special powers based off the shinigami's reiatsu. So if I was to have a zanpakuto it would most likely have something to do with ice. I felt a pang in my chest at the thought as if one of my good friends had left never to come back. I shrugged it off. There were three stages. One was the sealed state, where the zanpakuto took on the form of a normal sword, the second or released state was called Shikai, and the third and final state was called Bankai. Each stage was considerably more powerful than the next. I paused, I knew these words. I mouthed them soundlessly; they just seemed to flow off my tongue. I paused, this was the first time I had ever seen them...

The next file – sightings – was what I had been looking for all this time. They were organised by town and Karakura was at the very top. My breath caught in my chest. There were pictures and summaries of each sighting. My heart was thudding out of excitement. This was going to tell me exactly what Ichigo was up to.

"Wow, it's cold in here!"

I jumped at the sudden noise and looked over my shoulder to see a bald man dressed all in black leather enter the room.

"Geez, Kid, how are you sitting there in just a sweater?" his breath made puffs as he spoke.

I shrugged. He came over pulled up a chair and sat across from me. "I hope you're finding everything you came for. Misa-chan said you were especially interested in reincarnation. I'm Hideki Arata, by the way. I'm in charge of this joint."

"Takemitsu Hyōka."

"Looking for anything in particular?"

"Um, it would be nice to know the specifics about reincarnation, but I'm good with these for now-"

He had already gotten up and was shuffling through the file cabinets.

"We got a few things about reincarnation over here. My father personally knew someone who was reincarnated; Emi was her name I believe."

He rattled on about this Emi person and I could not be less interested. I mindlessly flipped through the sightings. They were mainly hollow extermination cases on the part of the shinigamis... I paused, how did I know that? I scanned through the summary; there was nothing that would make me think that the shinigamis had come solely to kill hollows.

"Is it just me or is it getting colder by the minute? Misa-chan, close the door!" Hideki shouted. I glanced up at him annoyed. He was more annoying than Ichigo on a good day. I rolled my eyes as he continued talking about who-knew-what this time. I didn't even bother to attempt to pay attention. I looked back down at the file. Apparently I had reached the photo section. How did they even take pictures of dead people anyway?

I voiced that question.

"We have special cameras that pick up on heat and take crude pictures more like thermographs than anything. My father developed this computer program that can change the 'heat pictures' into colour photographs..."

I stopped listening after that. This dude's father sounded like some hardcore tech-y guy. Too bad he didn't do anything much with his talents. No, I did not consider a small, ratty, agency that dealt with paranormal activities anything big. It was useful, but not phenomenal. I turned back to the pictures, most of them were blurry and half obscured. There were actually a few of Ichigo I noticed with excitement. That hair was impossible to miss. So at least I knew now that these people were legitimate. I recognised the white coats on the some of them signifying that they were captains. Maybe I could spot Rangiku. I looked closer at one of the captains, he was really just a blob in the background but for some reason he intrigued me. I squinted trying to cut some of the blur. A sharp gasp tore from my throat. This guy... I looked up at Hideki. He was looking back at me with an amused grin on his face.

"Found something good?" he asked.

I nodded. "Him," I pointed at the picture. "Do you have any clearer pictures?"

He came over to look at the picture. "Oh him, yeah we got some stuff. Nothing much clearer though. Those shinigami are as fast as hell." He flipped to the back of the file and pulled out a small envelope. "There, knock yourself out kid. There might be a few of him in there. Oh, and he's in the captains file as well, here I'll get it for you." He made it halfway to the filing cabinet then turned to look at me. "That's your natural hair colour?"

I hesitated, "... No."

He narrowed his eyes. "How'd you do that? I've never seen someone's hair turn white from bleaching."

"It was a really long process, I wouldn't advise it. It messes up your hair for life, I can't get it to turn back." My lie was believed, thankfully. He turned back to the cabinet with a grunt.

I went back to staring at the picture. The captain, was not more than a child really, he was standing up next to another shinigami he only came up to his upper abdomen. But his head, it was a white blob. That meant he either was a really short old man or had white hair... like me. I felt an agitated feeling rise up in the back of my mind. I needed to find out more about this shinigami.

I pulled out some more photographs from the envelope he gave me. Most of them were of no use to me. But there were a couple in which he was focused on, or at least as focused a blob could be. I couldn't even see his face properly but the longer I stared at the pictures the quicker my breathing became and small jolts of electricity shot up my spine. Suddenly a heavy folder was slammed on the desk in front of my nose. I muffled a scream and jumped.

"Here he is!" Hideki exclaimed. "We don't have much on him, but we got Misa-chan to do a sketch, she's a really good artist, went to art school and all."

I slowly opened the file and flipped to the captain section. There he was; Kid-captain. Somehow that name annoyed me. Race: Shinigami, rank: Captain, Zanpakuto: katana (nodachi) Special powers: ice. I did a double take; ice. This was getting to be rather creepy. I thought back to the ice that had surrounded Ichigo's bed on Boxing Day. Yet another shiver shot up my spine. I shook my head this was just a coincidence, it had to be. There were billions of souls out there; there was no way I would be able to figure out that I was tied to this one. I ran my finger across the page only to realise that my fingers were turning blue. Surprised, I hurriedly looked up. Hideki had left the room – I didn't even notice when he left – and there was a thin layer of frost creeping up the table legs and filing cabinets. This was insane. I swallowed. This could not have been that easy. Things were never this easy. Plus I would definitely need to straighten out some facts before I jumped to any conclusions.

I turned to the computer. There must have been a reason why I was told not to touch it. I quickly glanced over my shoulder. Good the coast was clear. Thankfully it was on already, all I needed to do was bypass the security and email myself the files. A flash drive could be easily stolen of found out by Ichigo or Mikami. After three minutes I was in. getting past security on these old models was a piece of cake. I quickly scanned the various folders and libraries looking for anything that could be useful. I sent a ton of pictures to myself hoping that somehow I would be able to fix them up and see what was actually going on in them. I was just about to open a document labelled most recent sightings when there was a set of heavy footsteps behind me. I didn't even get a chance to turn around before a cloth was pressed against my mouth and nose and my arms we grabbed and held tight behind my back. I recognised the smell of chloroform and I inwardly swore before my mind started to black out. Like I said, things were never that simple.

...

When I came to I was in a dark room with my hands tied around a rusty metal pipe. My shoulders were screaming in protest at the weird angle they were being forced to hold. My mind still felt groggy and I felt like I was going to throw up. I shakily stood up to ease the tension in my shoulders, bad move as the world tilted around me. I took a few deep even breaths and tried to clear my head. It worked but the first thought that came to my head was I had been kidnapped. Damn. Was this really happening right now? Oh my god. I felt my heart beat begin to speed up. Why would they even want to kidnap me? I wasn't anyone important. Maybe they were just a couple of freaks who liked to kidnap and murder children, or worse. I swallowed, I could be turned into some sort of sex slave. Oh god. I should have never come to Sapporo. Mikami was right, she was always right; curiosity killed the cat. And this time no one was coming to rescue me. I felt tears well up in my eyes and I sank back down to my knees. There was no way I was going to get out of this. This was the first time in ages that I gave into the panic and despair that came along with one of my attacks. I couldn't find reason to fight it. I cried until I passed out again.

...

_Are you really this hopeless? _

_I bolted upright, hearing snow crunch as I moved suddenly. I was back on the plain of ice. Snow was falling softly but it was beginning to pick up speed by the second. I looked around for the person who had spoken._

_I'm over here._

_I spun rising to my feet. Standing less than five feet away was the boy dressing in black. I couldn't see much once again because of the snow. Who the hell-_

_Who am I? I'm you, but right now I'm ashamed to be. Are you really going to sit down there and cry and just resign yourself to the fact that you're kidnapped? Where's your fight? Are you just going to let yourself die?_

"_There's nothing I can do."_

_I guess you really aren't ready yet. All you had to do was listen. You didn't have to figure out any puzzles, or fight anyone, all you had to do was listen._

"_Listen to what?"_

_His voice! _

"_Who's voice? All I can ever hear is the wind... and you."_

_Well that's it then. if you can't hear him now, you're never going to hear him. I guess we'll just have to die young...again._

"_Him? Who, him? Why does everyone have to be so elusive all the time? Just fucking give me a straight answer for once!"_

_Him, your SOUL goddamnit!_

"_My... soul... how is that even possible?"_

_Well, you either figure that out soon or you're going to die. _

"_What?" _

_You heard me. _

_With that he started to walk away. _

"_Wait! I need your help! How do I talk to my soul? If you said you're me, aren't you afraid of dying too?"_

_I've been telling you how to all this time. All you have to do is listen. _

_He disappeared after those last words. And I saw a flash of teal eyes before the snow took over. _

_..._

I woke with a startled gasp and blearily looked around again. Hideki was sitting across from me on a metal folding chair his arms folded across his chest and a cigarette perched between his lips. He exhaled a cloud of smoke and leaned towards me. The smell of tobacco clogged my lungs and caused me to choke.

"What the hell are you?" he spat "And why are you here?"

"What?"I answered my brain still not functioning properly.

Suddenly there was a loud smacking noise and my head flew to the left. My cheek was smarting from where he hit me. And suddenly everything was clear again.

"Don't play dumb with me. Who sent you?"

"No one, I don't know what you're talking about."

He raised his hand again.

"Arata! That's enough." I lifted my head to see the girl with green hair – Misa-chan – standing leaning against the wall. She looked just as scared as I felt. "He's just a kid."

"Have I taught you nothing? He's a shinigami, he could be over ten-thousand years and we wouldn't know the difference! This is no child he's a trained warrior and he was sent here to shut us down; to find out what we know and shut us down. But I'm not going to let him."

These people thought I was a... shinigami. That was rich, I almost laughed. "Look, I'm not what you think I am. I'm not a shinigami, I'm human, one hundred percent human. My name is Takemitsu Hyōka, I'm twelve years old and I'm from Karakura Town, originally Tokyo but I moved there this summer!"

"All a cover story no doubt. Then explain your crazy reiatsu."

"I can't... all I know is that I can see ghosts and hollows and all I want to learn more about them. How does that qualify me as a shinigami! I barely even know what they are!"

"Arata, you have to admit that his reiatsu is pretty raw compared to the others we've seen. Plus we didn't find anything that would make us think he was a shinigami. Only the stuffed dragon but I took it apart and I couldn't find any gikongan."

... Took it apart?

"W-what did you do to my dragon?"

Hideki cocked his head and glared at me. "That doesn't mean anything. What are you boy?"

"My Dragon! What did you do to my dragon!"

"I'll ask one more time, what are you?"

"Where is my dragon?"

He sat back and rolled his eyes. "Get him the stupid toy, Misa-chan."

Minutes later what could only be described as a lump of blue fabric was tossed at my feet. My breath caught in my throat. Hyourinmaru had been ripped apart. The stitching along his back had been cut open and hit stuffing was leaking out, most of it was gone already. His head was limply hanging from his body by a few pieces of thread and one of his eyes was missing. No, this was not happening. It had to be all a dream. Yeah, I was actually at home sick. I closed my eyes and counted to ten hoping that I would wake up. But when I opened them again Hyourinmaru's disfigured form was the only thing I could see. Tears welled in my eyes and my bottom lip began to tremble. I looked up at Hideki trying to look furious through my sorrow.

"Oh, hit a soft spot did we?"

"Why did you do that?"

"At least it's still in one piece. We can do much worse if you don't answer my questions. Now tell me boy what you are." He snarled suddenly centimeters from my face.

I glared at him and lobed a huge blob of spit in his face. He jolted back with a cry of disgust.

"You little-"

"Even if I did know anything you can bet on your life that I wouldn't tell you," I snarled, "asshole."

I clenched my jaw, breathing heavily through my nose.

Hideki raised an eyebrow. "Oh really, we'll see how you feel tomorrow."

With that he grabbed Misa by the elbow and shoved her out of the room. When they left I turned back to Hyourinmaru. My stomach turned and my chest tightened. All I wanted was to pick him up and possibly break down crying. But no, I blinked away the forming tears and took a few deep breaths. I needed to get out of here first. I looked around the room with new resolve. If those two creeps thought I was going to go down without a fight then they had another thing coming to them.

"Don't worry Hyourinmaru, I'm going to get us out of here."

I could of swore I heard him chuckle and somewhere in the back of my mind a voice said, "Now that's what I'm talking about." I didn't ponder much on it; all I had to do was listen, right?

Okay, so I was handcuffed with plastic handcuffs to a metal pipe running up the wall and along the ceiling. I had to be in a basement I figured from the chilliness of the room and the unfinished un-insulated walls. I could easily sneak out through the window but I needed to get out of these hand ties first. There were two options either I could try to pull my hands through which would most likely result in dislocated thumbs and losing all the skin on my hands. The other option was to somehow break the plastic. I sighed, neither one seemed really feasible. I chewed my bottom lip in thought. Some genius, I couldn't even figure out how to break free of plastic handcuffs. Okay, so how could I break though plastic? The pipe was smooth so there was nothing I could use to saw through. The only way out would be to snap it somehow. Now, how could I make plastic easier to break? Melting... no freezing! I could control ice, could I not?

If I could somehow recreate the ice in Ichigo's room I could freeze the handcuffs snap them like a toothpick and I would be out of here. I took a deep breath, it couldn't be that hard to do, right? I pictured ice climbing up the metal pipe and seeping onto the handcuffs freezing them solid. I concentrated on that image for what seemed like ages. But nothing happened. The temperature didn't drop, the pipe certainly didn't get any colder and when I opened my eyes the only thing different was a red line on my wrists from pulling the cuffs so hard. I growled in frustration. How the hell did this work? Damnit Ichigo and refusing to teach me anything. I was going to teach myself again but I didn't even know where to start. I paused this was going to take a lot of control... controlling reiatsu, but first I needed to become more aware of it. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes again. For some reason I was drawn to the plain of ice in my dreams so I pictured myself sitting cross-legged in the middle of the plain. I took deep even breaths willing myself to stay calm and well... open myself to my surroundings.

Back so soon?

I cracked an eye open. The boy was sitting in front of me but for some reason I still couldn't see his face. It was like he was wearing a veil made of condensed air or something. "You know, it's hard to concentrate with you talking."

He chuckled. I knew you had it in you.

"Yeah, thanks." I rolled my eyes. "Now, shut up so I can concentrate. The sooner I can get myself and Hyourinmaru out of here the better."

Controlling reiatsu isn't that hard. Just imagine your energy is like a bubble that you have to keep the same size. If you let it get too big it will pop, though explode is a better term. If you let it get too small... it becomes hard to maintain. Right now you're letting it run free, it spikes with your emotions and now you need to turn that emotional control into something more reliable.

I paused. Okay less than an hour ago he wasn't even willing to give me the time of day. What was with this all of a sudden? But whatever, I wasn't about to complain. "How?"

Visualise your reiatsu and then try to contain it... in a bubble. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes almost second nature to you.

Okay, visualise my reiatsu? Got it. For some reason it took the shape of a blue flame... well a roaring fire would be a more accurate description. I jumped up in surprise as the fire took over the plain of ice surrounding me and the boy. Flames towered over six feet tall and smoke rose to the skies. The snow wasn't melting though and neither was the fire radiating any heat.

Hmm this is more... ostentatious than I expected. But good job, now contain it.

"This is my reiatsu?"

In essence yes. Now contain it.

"How?"

You're supposed to be a genius, figure it out for yourself.

Even though I couldn't see his face I could tell he was glaring at me. I turned my attention to the fire – my reiatsu – now how to contain it. I chewed my lip in thought. Water? No that would extinguish it; I only wanted to... make it smaller. If I could manage to get it all into one area then work from there. No sooner had the thought passed through my mind the fire had gone from taking over the plain to the size of a campfire between the two of us.

I stood stunned as wind ruffled my hair. "That was easy."

Now, that I didn't expect. He said shaking his head. I shrugged.

"Do I constantly have to concentrate on keeping it this size?"

Yes, any slip in your concentration will result in your reiatsu flaring. But like I said this soon becomes second nature. Now back to your escape plan, we don't have all day.

Right. I looked at my hands, tied up in the plastic handcuffs. I looked wearily over at the fire then took a deep breath. I closed my eyes and imagined a wisp of the flame encircling the plastic and freezing it. It actually felt as if something was leaving my body thins time, like a low powered vacuum was sucking air from my lungs. I felt my hands go cold then numb. When I opened my eyes I saw a thin layer of frost covering my skin. The handcuffs were frozen. I let myself grin in victory. I can't believe it actually worked. This was amazing!

No, don't let your emotions influence your reiatsu!

I looked up the fire had gotten out of control again, and worse than before. I couldn't even see the sky anymore. All I could see was a wall of blue flames.

Now hollows are going to be drawn in from miles.

"Shit."

Well don't just stand there, bring it back in!

I was about to concentrate on containing it when a grating noise like fingernails scratching a chalkboard tore through the plain. My eyes snapped open and I was once again facing the pipe. The hollows were coming. I didn't have much time and already the ice on my hands was beginning to thaw. They were beginning to burn as blood rushed into the appendages. I needed to work fast. I tugged on the handcuffs feeling them slip a bit. Those bastards had put them on really tight. I wiggled my hands and tired to pull them apart using the pipe as a lever. I heard a faint cracking noise, but apart from that all I felt was the skin break on my right hand and severe burning on my wrists. Shit, this wasn't working! I heard the hollow roar again then there were dull thuds as if people were moving about upstairs. There was a faint banging of doors and muffled shouts. I guess Hideki and Misa had seen the hollows. I yanked fulitly on the handcuffs I kept on hearing little cracks but nothing too serious. I needed more strength... or more weight. The pipe stretch up to the ceiling and I'm sure that as sturdy as the handcuffs were, they could not hold my weight. I wrapped my arms and feet around the pipe and tried to shimmy up. It was easier said than done. The metal slipped against my jeans and wool sweater. I swore as there was a loud crash outside. I needed to get out now. I kicked off my boots and toed off my socks and tried to climb up the pipe again. My bear skin offered more resistance this time. I had just made it to ceiling level when I slipped. There was a sharp crack and I knocked the side of my head against the pipe. Both my wrists felt as though they had been sliced open with a razor blade. But it had worked the handcuffs had snapped and I was free to go. I snatched up Hyourinmaru, not even wasting time to put back on my shoes and hoisted myself out of the window.

And I really should have thought this plan through better. Once outside I was met with three hollows all staring at me like I was a plate of food. At least they weren't arrancars. I slowly backed away my heart beat skyrocketing instantly. Shit. How was I supposed to get out of this? I couldn't fight them so I hightailed it out of there. My bare feet were burning from the snow and ice but I chose to ignore them, it was either my feet or my life. I knew there was no hope of me outrunning a hollow, so I needed to hide, and lay low until they got bored. I was on a main street now. It had to be at least two in the morning so it was pretty much deserted, thankfully. I kept on running despite the agony my body was in. I needed to get rid of the hollows as soon as possible. Hollows were attracted to reiatsu and duh, Hyōka, contain it, goddamnit! I was letting my reiatsu go wild right now. I pictured the campfire in my head, no screw the campfire I needed a candle or a match flame. Instantly a cold breeze swept through me and I stumbled forward energy draining from my limbs. I landed on my knees. Hopefully this would work because I don't think I had enough energy to take another step. I looked over my shoulder. Sure enough the hollows had paused looking around confused and sniffing the air like animals. I held my breath as I watched them. Then ever so slowly they turned around and scattered off in different directions, most likely picking up on other strong reiatsus. I felt bad for setting them on other people, but there were supposed to be shinigami stationed in each town, they would deal with this, right?

I tiredly pushed myself to my feet. I needed to get out of the snow. I was running around barefoot in only a sweater. If I didn't die from a hollow attack the weather was going to kill me. I looked around. Every building was closed for the night and well frankly, I didn't know where I hell I was. Being lost in the fourth largest city in Japan was the definition of deep trouble.

...

I sat down on a plastic chair a jacket draped around my shoulders and a cup of hot coffee in my hands. I was trembling so badly it was hard to keep the coffee in the cup. But I was just happy to get out of the cold. After about an hour of wandering around I had come across a police man doing what I don't know. I had almost started to cry with relief. I had no idea how many panic attacks I had during that hour. He had mistaken my relief for fear and brought me to the station and well here I was. Three police officers were crowded around me making sure I was alright. Who knew that they would all have a soft spot for kids? But then again, I had been out in the snow until I turned blue, with no shoes or coat, a huge bruise on my forehead and my wrists rubbed raw and sliced open in areas, not to mention I was crying. Who could afford not to feel sorry for me? Pathetic much?

After I had told them who I was and briefly describing what had happened they contacted the Karakura Police Department and Teito. I was given a cell and a cot for the night as well as some oversized dry clothes and at least five hot drinks. It would take Mikami and Teito at least a day to get here, so until then I would just have to await my death sentence.

...

"Explain." That was Mikami's codeword for you can plead your case but I'm still going to punish you anyway. I was about to open my mouth but she held a hand up to stop me. "Actually don't. This is one time where I don't want to know what you were thinking." She was pacing up and down the living room.

We had made the journey back to Karakura in complete silence. That was the most unnerving eight hours of my life. She looked like she was going to turn around and push me out of the moving bus any minute. And as for Teito, I could count the amount of times I had seen him mad on the fingers of one hand, needless to say when he got angry he was angry enough for all of earth and mankind. I was afraid to breathe on the bus ride back, so I had curled up in a ball in my seat and stared out the window. And I felt ten times even worse because I couldn't even hold Hyourinmaru to comfort me. When we arrived home I was literally marched to the apartment and Teito pushed me onto the couch. They stood staring at me for a good five minutes before anyone spoke.

"Have we completely and utterly failed you as guardians?" Teito's voice was like an impending thunderstorm.

I frowed. "What? No."

"Really? So what's next? You gonna join a gang, maybe sell some drugs?"

Ouch, did they really think I was some sort of rebel? I had gone to Sapporo strictly for education purposes. "Teito, I would never-"

"So why the hell would you run away to Sapporo?" he shouted. Teito never shouted. I wanted to disappear into the couch cushions. I reached for the black plastic bag at my feet in which Hyourinmaru lay.

"Do you know how worried we were when you didn't come home from school? We checked everywhere. Not at Kazu's not at Chou's, you didn't have detention and guess what the school said you weren't even present yesterday. They didn't call us because they thought you were home _sick_. Ichigo didn't even know where you were. You had us going crazy searching all over town for you. We thought a hollow had gotten you, which had Ichigo going crazy because he hadn't sensed any yesterday. Then it's after three in the morning when I get a call from the station saying you had been found in freaking _Sapporo_. Now you better have a good reason for why you would make everyone worry about you this much. Do you enjoy keeping us on our toes like this? Life is too boring for you as it is, so you feel you have to shake things up even more?"

I hid behind the plastic bag. I hadn't really considered that matter. I had actually forgotten to take into account how much my disappearance would worry them. When he put it that way I sounded like an inconsiderate brat. "I was going to come back."

"That's not the point! And get that bag out of your face, look at me when I'm talking to you!" he tore the bag from my grasp and flung it across the room, Hyourinmau's stuffing went flying all over the room and he landed in a heap at Teito's feet. I let out a pained gasp. Seeing him like this caused last night's events came back in a flash, the whole kidnapping, being knocked out and tied up in a basement, then running for my life and wondering for an hour in the snow. I buried my head in my hands and felt tears roll down my cheeks. I could have died and all because of a stupid decision I made.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." I sobbed.

I heard Teito swear then let out a heavy sigh. "What happened and why did you go to Sapporo in the first place?"

"For answers." I blubbered.

"Answers?"

"I want to know what's going on. No one tells me anything, and I know I'm more involved in this whole hollow thing than any of you let on."

"There is a reason why Kurosaki-san it keeping things from you?" Mikami spoke up her voice trembling. "From what he told me this information can kill you, Hyōka. For once why can't you just trust that someone else wants the best for you? Why do you always have to fight the people who are trying to help you?" her voiced cracked.

My head snapped up. Mikami was the rock of our family, strong, resilient and ostensibly fearless but I... had made her cry. Even if I was loath to admit it, I was the cry-baby, Mikami was... was more resolute than granite.

"Mikami..."

"Why do you have to push your limits so far, Hyōka. When will you learn that we're all on your side? You could have died last night, Hyōka!"

I felt a new batch of tears start to fall. "I'm sorry."

Teito ran a hand through his Hair, "Sorry doesn't cut it Koko-chan."

I had made some pretty bad decisions in my life, but this was by far the worst one. All I had to show for my troubles were a few blurry pictures, two disappointed siblings and a broken dragon.

* * *

**Yeah, as promised things are starting to pick up now **

**Review?**

**-Mymomomo**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey everyone! Yes I actually had to work pretty hard to get this out in a timely fashion you I hope it's worth it.**

**I'd like the thank everyone who's reviewed so far **

**And now we make way into a huge-ish plot development... Enjoy**

* * *

"Well it's going to hurt to walk for a while, but just be thankful we don't have to amputate your feet."

I sighed, "I'm not in the mood for jokes, Kurosaki."

He raised an eyebrow, "I'm not joking. Second degree frost bite is not pretty. Those blisters are going to be there for at least a month. And the thermo-receptors in your feet are going to be all wonky from now on so you're going to have trouble feeling hot and cold. You know you could have spared a few more minutes to put your shoes back on."

I clicked my tongue in annoyance, but I couldn't bring myself to give any backchat today, not after all the trouble I had put him through. After an extensive lecture on Sunday morning and the announcement of my punishment - I was grounded of course, no television, no cell phone, extra chores and a ridiculous curfew, I wasn't even allowed to go to Ariwa's or Kasai's anymore – Mikami had brought me to the clinic to have my feet and wrists checked out. While she was fixing the cuts on my wrists I had to explain everything to Ichigo. He was livid to say the least but he didn't shout he just ground his teeth together and glared at me. In fact he had been silent for the whole time and I when I finished he just left the room. He had come back two hours later and warned me if I ever pulled something like that again he would hunt me down and made sure I made it safely to the afterlife. Unlike my family, I had learnt that Ichigo could not hold a grudge to save his life. But the reason for that was that he always blamed himself for everything. I had heard him talking on the phone to Rukia. He listed off the things he could have done and should have done to stop me, repeating how he was so stupid to leave me on my own and never once blaming me for my own poor decisions. I didn't think it was possible for me to feel any worse than I already did. Having Ichigo blame himself for something I did was the best guilt trip anyone could pull.

"Anyway, up you get, or you're going to be late for school."

I nodded and jumped off the bed. "Thanks, Kurosaki. You didn't have to come here so early to check on me."

He just grinned and scratched the back of his neck. "Mikami may have her degree but I would rather see that you're okay myself."

I shook my head and pulled on an old school bag. Mine along with my I-pod and wallet had been lost in Sapporo.

"Do you want me to walk you to school?" he asked.

"If you want. You'll be late for work, though."

He just shrugged and guided me out the door. "Oh, and Yuzu said that Hyourinmaru will be as good as new by next week."

I nodded and felt some sort of relief wash over me. Yuzu had offered to fix him; thank god she was a good seamstress. I don't know what I would have done if he couldn't have been fixed, but then again that had been my entire fault too.

...

School; where children could be at their worst and nothing was ever done about it. I grit my teeth in annoyance and dumped the ratty bag on my desk. Since Karakura was such a small town, of course everybody would know about my escapade. It was like the first day all over again with the amount of whispers going around.

"My mom was right, this guy is bad news. Anyone who bleaches his hair that colour is bound to be looking for trouble."

"Look at his arms; do you think he tried to commit suicide?"

"Only someone who is a delinquent would do something like that. I heard he was found by the police."

"I bet he's part of some gang, he looks tired all the time, like he's taking drugs."

"That wouldn't surprise me. I just wonder why he hasn't been expelled yet."

I closed my eyes and rested my head on the desk. My only wish at the moment was to make them all stop. Yes, I knew I had made a huge mistake; I didn't need to be reminded of it everywhere I turned.

"Please tell me it isn't true." I heard someone sit down in the desk in front of me. I raised my head to see Ariwa frowning at me. "Did you really sneak off all the way to Sapporo and try to kill yourself?"

I sighed, "Yes – to the first part."

His eyes widened. "What's wrong with you? I go away for three days and now you're some kind of suicidal rebel."

"I didn't try to kill myself."

"Then explain those bandages."

I looked at my wrists. The school sweater didn't cover the bandages completely. "Handcuffs."

"They put you in handcuffs! Hyōka what did you do? Are you in some sort of gang?"

"No. It was just me in Sapporo, no one else."

"So why were you there in the first place?"

I sighed, how to put this? "Kurosaki was hiding something from me and I thought the answer was in Sapporo."

He stared at me. "That's the stupidest reason I've ever heard. Do you know what people here are saying about you now? My parents even said I shouldn't be friends with you anymore because you're not the type of person I should be seen with."

"What?"

He hung his head. "We're not going to stop being friends though, please, just stop this. "

I scowled. "I'm not that much of a bad influence if anything I motivate you to get better marks, I'm at the top of the class for crying out loud."

"You talk back to teachers, you get into fights, there hasn't been a week where you didn't have at least one detention, and you skip classes. How did you even get the money to go to Sapporo anyway?"

I was silent.

He closed his eyes for a minute. "Oh no, please tell me you didn't. You _stole _it didn't you?"

"I... well-"

He cut me off with a sharp glare. "Hyōka! As if your reputation wasn't bad enough," he sighed, "Chou's the one who asked me to talk to you. She overheard a conversation from the staff room the other day. The teachers don't care how high your marks are, if you mess up anymore, they _will _expel you."

"For what? Talking back and getting detentions? That hardly seems fair."

"They probably know more. Hyōka just... be good."

I rolled my eyes and put my head back on the desk. This was Tokyo all over again, if got expelled my currently rocky relationship with Mikami and Teito would just worsen. Fine, I would just have to –dare I say it – be good.

...

I was honestly trying my best. I bit back every sarcastic comment; I was subdued and polite exactly how a student should be. Things were going pretty good until the period after lunch. We were reading silently for history when the intercom crackled to life.

"Takemitsu Hyōka, please report to the principal's office."

My head shot up and my stomach sank to my feet. Ariwa shot me a glare. Well it was inevitable that I would get in trouble for skipping an entire day of school. I sighed and got up. I just wished that they would keep the lecture short. And as for punishment, I believe we were talking suspension at the least. Great, Mikami was going to kill me when she found out. I walked as slowly as I possibly could, but I still found myself outside the principal's office in a matter of minutes. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Someone bade me entrance from the other side and I slowly went in. When I saw who was inside I nearly closed back the door and ran in the opposite direction. Both Mikami and Teito were sitting down across from the principal. They both looked like they wanted to kill me on sight. My stomach sank to my feet and I shuffled into the office. There was another man there as well, I didn't know who he was but he looked kind of important.

I cleared my throat. "Y-you wanted to see me, sir?"

The principal sighed and removed his glasses from his face. "This is Watanabe-san," he indicated the unknown man, "He's here because on Thursday, his wallet was stolen by a young boy wearing our school's uniform."

My eyes widened. No... No one was supposed to find out. "T-that could have been anyone, sir."

"It could have been, but it was you, Takemitsu. We saw the recording from a security camera in the dinner. It clearly shows you coming in and stealing this man's wallet."

I felt all the blood drain from my face. There were security cameras? I hung my head, I knew this would come back to bite me in the butt. I couldn't argue against cold, hard evidence, I would just have to face the music from now on.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'm sorry." I muttered

"What was that? Look at the person you're talking to."

I raised my head. "I said; I'm sorry."

"For what?"

I grit my teeth he was making me seem like a little child. I turned to the Watanabe man clenching my fists. "I'm sorry for stealing your money." Then I glanced towards the principal, "and for skipping classes and brining shame to the school's name." I tried to keep the sarcastic tone in my voice to a minimum, but I'm afraid it came out sounding very much like I was mocking him. I was angry at him, not sorry for _tarnishing the school's reputation. _

The principal let out a deep breath through his nose. "Wait outside while we decide on your punishment."

I ground my teeth and left without another word. I sat down on a bench next to a potted plant. Great, this was just great. I honestly had no idea what Mikami and Teito would do to me this time. I was already grounded, and almost all my rights as a person had been taken away from me. My stomach bubbled uncomfortably. They were going to kill me. It was bad enough that I ran away, but now they found out that I had stolen the money to do so... I shuddered at the thought. What was I going to do? They would probably hate me now. I closed my eyes and hunched over until my forehead was touching my knees. Not to mention Ichigo whose morals were built on honesty and loyalty, he probably wouldn't even want to speak to me again. How could I have been so stupid? I could just kick myself!

_That would be a sight to see. _

I felt something like a light tug somewhere between my stomach and heart and I was suddenly on the plain of ice again. The boy was sitting in the snow glaring at me over his shoulder. His face was still cloudy.

"You can bring me here whenever you want?" I asked.

More like you can come here whenever you want.

I sighed and sat down next to him. "Have you ever messed up so bad you don't even know how to start to fix it?"

...No.

My shoulders slumped.

You can't tell me you didn't expect this.

"I knew I was going to get into trouble, just not this much."

Learn to weigh your actions. If you can't handle the consequences then don't bother with the act.

I frowned, "Well I thought I could handle it..."

Don't think – you should know what you can and can't handle.

I chewed the inside of my cheek. "I shouldn't have gone to Sapporo."

He turned to face me.

"I could have died. Ichigo, never would have forgiven himself, Teito and Mikami would have," I stopped. "It was just a stupid decision."

What about the information you obtained?

I paused, and then shook my head, "A bunch of sketchy pictures? It wasn't worth risking my life for."

So if a similar chance for information presents itself what will you do?

"I'll actually do a background check on the informants first. I'm never going to run blindly into anything again."

He shook his head. What if it's a trap?

"Then I'll be more the wiser the next time."

Assuming you survive.

"You know you're doing a hell of a job making me feel better."

I wasn't under the impression I was here for comfort.

"So what did you bring me in... out here for?"

You looked like you need to talk. Anyway, you learned from your mistake. You won't make the same one twice. So put this behind you and walk on with confident steps.

I stared at him for a while. How could someone so young come up with advice so astute?

What?

"Nothing. You just seem wise for your age."

Do you even know how old I am?

"Twelve?"

He shook his head then stood up. He held out his hand to help me up. I'll help you up as many times as you need it.

I knew he wasn't talking about helping me out of a snow bank. I took his hand and stood up. This was the closest I had ever been to him. We were roughly the same height. He was maybe an inch or two taller.

"Are you ever going to tell me who you are?"

You're not ready for that information yet. And get back out there, you'll be needed soon.

I blinked and suddenly I was back sitting on the bench. I looked up just in time to see Watanabe leave the room.

"Excuse me, sir." I said catching his attention.

He stopped and glanced at me with unhidden disgust.

I swallowed and steeled myself. "I'll pay you back. I'm going to find a way to get that money back."

He seemed shocked but nodded. "I'll hold you to that boy." With that he left.

I drew in a deep breath and rubbed my temples. This was going to be a ... difficult meeting if my punishment was going to be discussed. Just then the door to the office was opened again and Teito stuck his head out. He looked even more disgusted with me than Watanabe.

"Come." He growled.

I grimaced and stood up. Once inside the office I knew my world was about to end. For the second time in two days tears slowly dripped down Mikami's face. I knew the words even before they exited the principal's mouth.

"Takemitsu Hyōka, you've been expelled from Karakura Middle School."

My heart beat thudded to a halt and it felt like the world had stopped spinning. "What..."

"Please go clear out your locker and desk."

"What, no. I apologised, I said I was going to pay him back!" I exclaimed. This could not be happening; I was not going to let this become Tokyo again.

"The fact of the matter is you have been dragging the school's name through the dirt for the past term you've been here. And stealing is a federal offense; the school will not provide services to a criminal. It was just luck that Watanabe-san did not want to involve the police." He shot a glance at Teito in his uniform. "The police will not be involved right?"

Teito sighed and shook his head.

"How dare you call me a criminal! This is my first offense!" I continued, "I have not been tarnishing the school's name-"

The principal took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "I'm sure you can understand this decision is for the best." he said cutting me off. "Hyōka, has special needs which I don't think this school can accommodate-"

Special needs? "That's a load of crap!" I yelled shaking with anger.

"Hyōka!" Teito shouted silencing me. "That is enough. Go get your stuff we're going home."

"No!" I cried stamping my foot. "This isn't fair!"

"Well maybe you should have thought of that before you stole the money from that man and ran away to Sapporo." Teito growled through a clenched jaw. He grabbed me by my arm and dragged me out of the office. He looked back at the principal, "We're sorry for all the trouble he caused. Mikami are you ready?"

My sister stood up and mumbled something along the lines of she was really sorry and pushed past Teito on the way out the door. She didn't even look at me.

"Mikami..." the cold glance she shot me was enough to make the words die in my throat. She rounded the corner and disappeared from sight.

"Go get your things. We'll be waiting in the parking lot." Teito ordered me. "Don't take too long."

As he left I hung my head and felt tears start to well in my eyes. I took a deep breath and rubbed my face. It was no use crying, I deserved this.

The walk back to the classroom was the most painful thing I had ever done. And clearing out my desk was like the walk of shame as everyone stared me down and whispers rose. Ariwa sat in silence watching me, his mouth open like a fish.

"No..." he murmured shaking his head.

I nodded and felt a few tears slide down my cheeks. Even Adachi stared at me like he had never seen me before. Our eyes met for a brief second. He just stared unbelievingly at me as I walked out the room. I glanced at Hamada-sensei before I left giving her a small salute before the door swung shut behind me.

...

"What are we going to do now?" Mikami exclaimed. "No school in Karakura will want to take him."

"There's always boarding school." Kisuke suggested.

I closed my eyes. The tatami mat was beginning to leave an imprint on my retina.

"That's pushing the problem away, not solving it." Ichigo ground out. I knew he was glaring at me and I think I died a little inside at his tone.

"Wait." Rukia spoke up. "Why was he expelled? I know he ran away to Sapporo but the school should not be interfering with its students' personal lives."

There was a pregnant silence.

"He stole the money for the bus ticket." Teito said at length.

"What?" Rukia exclaimed. I knew she too was now staring at me. "Hyōka..."

I raised my head. "I know what I did was wrong and I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't fix anything, Hyōka, how could you do that?" she asked in shock.

I hung my head again.

"You really stole someone else's hard earned cash?" Ichigo snapped. "Do you know what that says about you?"

"It was wrong and I know it."

"Then why did you-" Ichigo shouted banging his fist on the table before Teito cut him off.

"Stop acting so smug, Hyōka. This isn't even a taste of your punishment."

"I'm not being smug. I know what I did was wrong, I'm not denying the fact that it was immoral and stupid-"

"Enough with your smart comments, I've just about had it with you."

"I'm agreeing with you!" I almost shouted raising my head to glare at him.

"Don't raise your voice at me! And if you were really sorry, you'd be acting a lot more different than you are now."

"Oh, I'm sorry was all the crying I did on the way back home not enough for you?"

"Just who do you think you're talking to like that?"

I clenched my jaw and looked away. There was a long awkward silence before Kisuke rubbed his hands together.

"A little shouting is always good for the soul, but now that's over with why don't we discuss the real reason why we're all here?"

Real reason? I glanced back at them. "What's going on?"

Kisuke glanced at me. "You're little excursion has caused some new developments."

I frowned. "That's all you're going to tell me?"

Kisuke nodded. I looked at everyone in the room in turn. No one gave any indication of wanting to say anything else.

"After all of this you people are still going to keep me in the dark?"

"I don't think you should be talking to anyone like that, right now." Teito growled.

Then I snapped. I had never been so angry in my life. "I don't believe this! You still plan on not involving me in this!"

"It's for your own-" Ichigo started.

"Your own good, right?" I mocked him, "You're too young to know this kind of information. Well I have one word for you; bullshit. The only reason I went to Sapporo, was so I could figure out what you were trying to hide from me. I'm not stupid, I know that whatever it is you're hiding revolves around me. And somehow not telling me about the problem will make it magically disappear? Ha, and you call me juvenile? Well guess what I found out more in two hours in Sapporo than any of you would like to know. I know I'm most likely the reincarnation of a shinigami captain. What was the danger in telling me that? You all assume that I'm this helpless little child, well guess what; I'm not!"

They were all stunned into silence, except Kisuke of course.

"You would go that far just to satiate your curiosity?" he asked. "That's not a quality, you should be boasting about, Hyōka. It's good to be curious but to be overly so is a detrimental weakness. Who knows to what lengths you would go to just to satisfy yourself."

I blinked in disbelief. "Just listen to the utter nonsense coming from your mouth."

"Hyōka, watch your tongue." Mikami snapped.

I felt a fire crackle to life in the pit of my stomach. My hands were trembling and I clenched my jaw so tightly it began to hurt. Okay, I understood that they were mad at me for what I did, but I would not stand for the way they kept on excluding me like this. I was just as involved in this as each of them was. It was me who was being targeted by Aizen not them, I was the one who had to be constantly looking over my shoulder and worrying if I was going to be attacked or not. And after all of that they didn't even have the decency to tell me why and then berate me for getting angry over it. Well I'm sorry if I had to resort to my own means to find out about this 'war'.

"Could you wait outside for a moment, Hyōka-kun?" Kisuke asked.

I shot him a death stare but got up pushing myself from the table as hard as I could and slammed the door shut as I left.

...

Just what are you trying to do?

I tried to ignore him rolling over in the snow bank and giving him my back.

Who are you punishing them or yourself? Because this is just stupid, you haven't left your room in three days, you haven't eaten in three days!

"Shut up, I don't need you to lecture me as well." I muttered.

Then stop feeling sorry for yourself and hiding from everyone. Such childish behaviour will never get you anywhere.

"I tried apologising, we both know how well that turned out."

Well try again; keep on trying until it works.

"I'm not going to beg for their forgiveness. Just leave me alone already." I closed my eyes and tried to shut him out.

He huffed. Fine.

The next thing I knew I was staring at my ceiling. The room was eerily quiet. I sighed and rolled onto my stomach. I had shut myself in my room for a total of three days. I had not talked to anyone during that time either. Teito and Mikami had both given up on trying to get me out after Teito had nearly knocked down my door and threw me over his shoulder to make me eat dinner with them. After he had sat me down at the table I had just briefly glanced at them then went back to my room, locking the door this time. I knew I was being childish; I just could not bring myself to speak to them anymore. I had nothing to say, or rather did not know what to say. It was something between guilt, shame, frustration and anger that prevented me from facing them. So, I just lay down on my bed for the entire day doing absolutely nothing.

Ever since I had started talking to the boy, my dreams had been getting worse. The blizzards were stronger and the dream where I died left me with the most excruciating chest pains I had ever felt. I spent most nights tossing and turning, fighting off panic attacks or just crying. And since there was nothing during the day to distract me the anxiety attacks haunted me throughout the day as well. I was literally worn out from doing nothing. Even just laying down I could feel myself trembling from exhaustion. I wanted to do nothing more than sleep but every time I closed my eyes I was haunted by the nightmares. The only bit of reprieve I could get was when the boy talked to me, but then it was to berate me on how I was being childish, so that wasn't really much of a break. So I had taken to blankly staring at the ceiling or walls trying to forget life for a few minutes at a time.

A loud knock on the door brought me back to reality. I blinked; I thought Mikami and Teito had given up.

"Hyōka?"

I almost sat up. What the hell was Ichigo doing here? The last time I checked he was just as mad at me as Teito and Mikami.

"Hyōka, open up. I need to talk to you."

So he could yell at me some more? No thanks. I closed my eyes and hugged my pillow to my chest. I had enough of people yelling at me for the time being.

"If you don't open up I'm going to break down this door."

"Kurosaki don't you dare." I heard Teito warn him.

The idiot. I rolled my eyes. I wonder if he even heard half the things that came from his mouth.

"Hyōka, I'm serious, open this door now."

And I was tired of being ordered around as well. Don't do this, don't do that, stop being so rude; get out of your room. I needed my space goddamnit. Why couldn't they all just leave me alone?

"I'm coming in."

I ground my teeth in annoyance. He wasn't seriously going to break down the door... there was a loud crunching noise and my door banged against the wall as it swung open. I shot up, my eyes widening. He actually kicked down the door. I heard Teito yell something unclear. And Ichigo waved him off over his shoulder.

"I'll have it fixed, don't worry. Now you," he turned to me and strode into the room, "what the hell do you think you're doing?"

I looked away and drew my knees into my chest. Ichigo sat on the foot of the bed and stared at me.

"Just look at you," he sighed, "Mikami told me you weren't eating and not sleeping either by the looks of things. Why are you doing this to yourself?"

I buried my face in my arms. I heard him shift around then his fingers were on my chin forcing me to look at him. I yanked my face from his grip.

"You look like you're going to collapse. Hyōka, this needs to stop."

"Leave me alone."

Ichigo seemed to be taken aback but to my surprise he got up and left the room. I stared at the door for a few seconds before lying back down and facing the wall.

"Okay, you're going to eat this whether you like it or not."

I knew it was too good to be true. He waved a granola bar in front of my face.

"I will force you to eat if I have to."

I rolled my eyes and turned away from him. I heard him growl then the next thing I knew I was on my back with him leaning over me. One hand was splayed on my chest pinning me to the bed and the granola bar was halfway in my mouth. I blinked up at him.

"I told you. Now you better eat that before you kill yourself and _that_ is the one thing, Takemitsu Hyōka, which I will never be able to forgive."

I think it was the sincere, worried look in his eyes that caused it. Suddenly I was coughing up the crumbs that had made their way down my throat and tears caused me to see blurred. Ichigo wasted no time in pulling me up and holding me against his chest.

"What's the matter?"

"I'm an idiot, that's what's wrong."

"You're not an idiot. You're one of the smartest kids I know." he said firmly.

"Then why do I make such poor decisions? I could have died, and I got expelled that's not exactly genius material."

He looked down at me. "Stop it, self pity does not suit you. And I'm sure you won't be doing the same thing twice."

I frowned, "That's what he said..." I muttered.

"What who said?"

I paused, how does one go about telling someone that there was a boy living in their head?

"Was it the same person who taught you how to control your reiatsu?" he asked before I could even open my mouth.

"How did-"

"It was a guess, and plus your reiatsu's no longer beckoning every hollow from here to Germany to come attack you." he paused, "I know I should have taught you how to control your reiatsu from day one, but I'm under strict orders not to interfere with you. Believe me, Hyōka, if I tell you too much your mind could 'melt' as our head healer so eloquently put it. It would be what is called a literal information overload. But now that you discovered what is going on I don't really see the harm in telling you this. If we had told you everything about soul society and shinigami the memories from your past life would have come flooding in and your brain would have had troubling in telling apart this life from the other eventually it would have become too much to handle and you would have either become stuck in a state in-between your past and present life or have gone crazy. You were supposed to be given prompts gradually but seeing as how you're more curious than a cat that didn't work out too well."

"... But my brain didn't 'melt' when I found out about the reincarnation."

"You know the general outline; it's the details that will get to you."

"So no details?"

"For now." He ruffled my hair, "We have time, you will find out everything at the end."

I sighed and held back a yawn.

"You should sleep." he stated.

"I can't, the dreams keep getting worse."

He cocked his head. "Okay how about I stay with you and I'll wake you if anything goes wrong?"

"...You don't have to do that."

"What if I said I wanted to?"

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, suit yourself, Kurosaki." I extracted myself from his grip and lay down. I felt him move around to lie down next to me. No sooner had my head hit the pillow I was asleep.

...

"Hyōka! Hyōka, wake up!"

I woke with a start, my heart beating a mile per second and sweat dripping from my forehead. Ichigo's arms were wrapped around me and I was breathing into his chest.

"Wha..."

"Your reiatsu surged, what were you dreaming of? I thought you were going to have a heart attack or something." he began to move his arms but I stopped him with a hand on his upper arm.

"Don't. I... just... I just need to be calm for a little while longer."

"Panic attack?"

"It's coming..."

In any other situation I would have shoved him away from me. But if I had known what was going to happen that night I would have never let go of his hand.

* * *

**Well, any guesses as to what's coming next? Hint: a super villain finally makes his entrance.**

**I was debating on whether or not expulsion was too dramatic, but what the heck life is dramatic, so yeah Hyoka got expelled.**

**the ending was a little choppy, but meh, I tried but my muse called it quits for the night. **

**hope you liked it, please leave any questions or comments in a review on your way out.**

- **Mymomomo**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hello my dear readers I'm back with a new and hopefully enticing new chapter high point number one has finally arrived and this should off-shoot us into the major conflict/ pressed of time/ development part of the story. Thanks for sticking with me for so long :)**

**I'd like to thank all the reviewers especially those who offered constructive criticism all was greatly appreciated.  
**

**And a extra special thanks goes out to my awesome new beta reader AmunRa! We all know by now how bad I am with commas, but now you can enjoy this story with improved grammar! be sure to send your thanks :)**

**Now presenting chapter 22, enjoy! **

* * *

I could never seem to catch a break; things just always seemed to happen to me. I stood cornered against the wall as two Arrancars approached me. I could barely see their forms in the darkness of my room; it was past midnight and the only light came from the street lamp across the road. I swallowed and tried to focus on the two hollows in front of me. This was the first time I had been attacked in my house. Where the hell was Ichigo? Why hadn't he stopped them?

"Two options, kid, you can either come with us or we can make you come with us. Which one shall it be?" the Arrancar's voice sounded rough like a pepper grinder.

"Screw you. I'm not going anywhere." I spat, raising my fists and taking on a defensive stance.

They began to laugh and I grit my teeth in annoyance. Ichigo was going to be here soon I just needed to stick it out long enough.

"Do you really expect to fight us, child?"

I glared at them through the darkness. I didn't think I could take these two. They weren't like the ones who could hide their reiatsu. They seemed strong. And if Ichigo didn't arrive in the next three seconds it looked like I was done for with the way they were advancing like that.

_You can't be this dependent on Ichigo._ The boy's tone was incredulous.

_Yeah, well I don't exactly know how to fight these things. _I snapped.

_You keep on forgetting that I am a Shinigami. Let me handle this._

_How? You live in my head._

He chuckled. _Just relax and watch. _

_...okay._

I tried not to gasp in surprise as my right arm rose of its own accord and my fingers tensed. It felt creepy. My body was moving by itself but it was as if I knew exactly what it was going to do; my brain wasn't fighting it.

_How..._

The next thing I knew I felt my reiatsu gather around my fist and one of the Arrancars went crashing across the room. I shook my hand my knuckles felt like they were broken. But I had punched an Arrancar. Across. The. Room.

_I can do that? _ I exclaimed.

My mouth was pulled back into a smirk and I turned to the remaining Arrancar. "That wasn't as hard as I would have liked, but as you were saying?"

My voice had taken on a cold tinge. I kind of liked it, it made me sound older.

The Arrancar's eyes went wide and the other groaned as it picked itself up off the ground.

"What the hell..." it growled rubbing its head.

I leapt at it, knocking it back down with a side kick. There was a cracking noise and I noticed that there was ice lacing its temple where my foot had connected. This time I could not help but gasp.

_You're using reiatsu to modify my strength?_

_Yeah, and we need to finish this one off before the other can react. He's much weaker than his partner so he won't be that hard to get rid of. _

_Okay, do your thing then._

_Watch, and take a few notes._

Our conversation must have taken less than a split second because the Arrancar didn't even have time to move from where I kicked it. I felt more reiatsu gathering in my palm. I glanced down to see I was holding what looked like a spear made of ice.

_No way..._

The boy raised my arm and brought the spear down completely skewering the Arrancar through the heart. Blood spurted out for a millisecond before the wound froze over. It glared up at me with wide eyes before disintegrating into thin air.

The boy simply flicked a drop of blood from my cheek and turned to the other Arrancar. I, on the other hand, wasn't so calm.

_I just killed an Arrancar! _I yelled inwardly, No way! Wait 'till Ichigo finds out! Oh my god, I just killed an Arrancar!

_Shut up_, the boy snapped, _there's still one more to go. And this one is at least three times as strong. I believe the one we just killed wasn't even fully developed yet... what the hell is Aizen thinking... _

_You know Aizen? _My eyes widened.

_How many times do I have to say it? I am you. _

_Sorry, I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact my alter ego's a Shinigami warrior. _

He chuckled. _One down, one to go. _

I sprang up into the air, jumping at least five times higher than I normally could. I swung my left foot around aiming at the second arrancar's head. My reiatsu caused my leg to tingle and I anticipated the crunch that would accompany the kick to the head.

The Arrancar, however, showed no signs of worry; he just raised his hand and caught my leg, millimetres from his face. He narrowed his eyes and began to squeeze my leg so tightly I could almost feel my tibia crack. The boy ground my teeth to keep me from crying out. Ice began to form on the hand holding my leg and I drew back my fist and punched him in the jaw. He reeled back, letting me go. I used his chest as a jumping board and flipped – yes flipped, I couldn't believe how awesome I was – to the other side of the room. I landed in a low squat and ignored the throbbing pain in my left calf. I also noticed how hard I was breathing and the drops of sweat that were beginning to soak through my night shirt.

_We might need Ichigo after all. _The boy panted.

_You can't take him?_

_Not with this body... _

_You say that as if you had another... _I paused as realisation suddenly dawned upon me, _You're the Shinimgai captain I was in my past life! You're my previous incarnation!_

He cocked his head. _Glad you could figure it out. Too bad now's not the right time._

The Arrancar was coming towards us with a menacing grin on his face. I felt the boy summoning up more of my reiatsu and he took a deep breath. The hollow did the same thing except he seemed to draw in all the light from the already dark room and a tiny red speck of light began growing at his finger tips.

My eyes widened and he started chanting. "Ye Lord. Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of man."

The red speck grew to about the size of a basket ball before suddenly my whole room was engrossed in red. I felt myself leap over my bed to the other side of the room, and a scorching heat passed by me. There was a loud explosion and suddenly my room didn't have a wall. Smoke streamed from the demolished concrete. And through all this the boy hadn't stopped chanting.

"Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws! Hadō number 33; Sōkatsui!"

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes or felt the energy leave me I never would have believed it. What looked like a wave of blue fire, exploded from the palm of my hand and enveloped the Arrancar, knocking him out of the room through the hole he had just created. I sank to my knees, trying to catch my breath.

_Damnit, that took more out of me than I expected. _The boy grumbled.

_Is it dead?_

_No... that barely even injured it. _

_No way! Are you kidding me?_

_I wish. _

He forced me to stand up despite my legs trembling and shuffled to the crater in my room. For a second he looked like he was going to jump out before my limbs locked up and I went crashing back to the floor. My heart beating faster than before.

_Idiot! _ I screamed, _don't you dare get that close to that hole!_

_... I forgot you're scared of heights. Tch, this complicates things. I don't think I have the energy to cast-_

"I think that's quite enough of that, don't you Hyōka-kun?"

That voice... it sent shivers up my spine and my blood ran cold. I looked over my shoulder and froze in pure horror.

_No!_

My heart beat sped up and it was suddenly hard to breathe. He could not be here. Ichigo promised-

_Hyōka calm down! You can't lose it now. _The boy yelled at me. I swallowed and tried to hold off the panic attack.

His voice softened. _Don't worry I'll take care of this. _

He forced me to turn around fully and stand up to my not-so-impressive height of four feet. "What do you want, Aizen?" he spat.

The brown haired man just grinned. My stomach turned and my chest started to throb. But he refused to let me do anything other than glare at Aizen in the face.

Aizen just raised an eyebrow, "I mean Hitsugaya-kun."

My eyebrows rose in surprise. "How-"

"How do I know? Simple, the same way I knew that this boy was your reincarnation and that you still existed inside of him. The same way I knew how to cultivate his powers bit by bit, the same way I led him to Karakura town and Kurosaki and the same way I've been watching his every move until the time was right to bring him back to Heuco Mundo with me and complete his powers."

My eyes widened. Aizen had been watching me my whole life? My heart thudded heavily in my chest.

"Now, my patience is wearing thin. Come with me." he held out his hand as if he expected me to take it.

The boy eyed the hand with disgust. "Not in a million years."

Aizen sighed dramatically. "Enough with the dramatics, we both know that you can't possibly resist me in this state. You can barely even stand up straight."

"I will never join forces with you, I'd rather die."

Annoyance flashed across his face before he concealed it with a small smile. Goose bumps rose on my arms.

"You can either come with me, or this boy's family dies." He snapped and two Arrancars walked in holding Teito and Mikami. They were both unconscious, Teito had blood dripping from a gash on his forehead and Mikami's bottom lip was cut.

My stomach dropped to my feet and the room started to spin. I heard the boy swear quietly. I swallowed; I was not going to let them get hurt, especially not because of me.

I grit my teeth and pulled control of my body from the boy.

_What are you doing? _he exclaimed.

_I'm not going to let them get hurt. If this is what I have to do to keep them safe then so be it. _

He did not look too happy but nodded.

"I'll go, just leave them alone."

Aizen grinned. "I knew you would come to your senses eventually." He motioned to the Arrancars and they dropped my brother and sister unceremoniously onto the floor. I winced at the noise made when their bodies hit the floor. He held out his hand again. "Hyōka?"

I bit my bottom lip so hard I started to taste blood and glanced to my siblings. This was probably the last time I was ever going to see them. Who knows what Aizen had in store for me? I willed the tears that were welling in my eyes not to fall. If I had known it was going to end this way I wouldn't have caused so much trouble for them. I didn't want to leave them on such a bad note.

"Hyōka, I'm waiting. You either come with me of they die." Aizen drew my attention back to him.

"I..." the words died on my tongue. Then suddenly his arm was wrapped around my shoulders. I froze, every muscle in my body tensing.

"You're doing a brave thing; they'll understand that you did this to save them." His voice was soft and gentle, the kind that adults used to talk to toddlers. It made me want to punch him in the face. I turned to him.

"You better not hurt them or I'll-"

"Or you'll what?" he laughed.

Then the world began to dissolve around me. "I admire your bravery, young one." was the last thing I heard before the world turned black.

...

I woke up what felt like days later. My limbs were stiff and my tongue felt like sand paper. I groaned and tried to stretch out. I noticed that my hand and left calf were bandaged and I was lying on the floor. I opened my eyes and groggily gazed around. Everything was white, from the walls to the slippery tiles I was resting on. Even the furniture, a long conference table and chairs, were white. I'm guessing Aizen had a favourite colour.

_This is really not the time to be making jokes ._the boy snapped, he seemed to be on edge.

I could see him quickly pacing around in the snow in my mind's eye. I took a deep breath and joined him. He stopped pacing and we both sat down in the snow.

_Hitsugaya... _I started.

He sighed, _call me Toushiro. _

My eyes widened. _You're Toushiro? That's why Ichigo sometimes called me that. He thought I never noticed... _

He chuckled and rolled his eyes. _That idiot. He's going to come after you, you know. He's not gonna rest until you're back with him._

I chewed my lip._ W-what does Aizen want with us?_

_I don't know. I don't even know why I'm still conscious... I shouldn't even be alive. _

_You must have some idea..._

_I... I think he wants to experiment. This doesn't usually happen. You retained most of my powers and are developing your own as well. That has got to spark his interest._

_Why me though? It could have happened to anyone, why me?_

He was silent. _I don't know, the soul cycle is completely random, there's no pattern to it. You were just... lucky I guess._

_Or unlucky... _

_Depends on how you look at it. Look, I'm going to try my best to get us out of here. But just prepare yourself because I don't think I can do too much. _

I was about to reply but I was pulled out of my inner world by someone yanking the back of my shirt. I almost choked and glared at the Arrancar who was sitting in front of me grinning. Steel grey eyes were sparkling with malignancy. Its mask looked like devil horns against its night black hair.

"Lord Aizen wants you now." it smirked and pulled me to my feet.

A large hand was wrapped around my arm and I was basically dragged from the room. The Arrancar was at least two feet taller than me so I was almost running to keep up with its long stride. I was tripping over my feet every other step.

"Would it kill you to slow down?" I spat trying to yank my arm from its grip.

"Am I hurting you?" it asked glancing at me for a split second.

"Yes."

"Good." The hand tightened around my arm, and I hissed in pain.

Soon we entered what looked like a bath chamber straight out from an English history channel. There was a white bathtub with clawed feet in the center of the room. Dozens of glass bottles filled with soaps and ointments decorated a few low shelves.

I looked up questioningly at the Arrancar.

"Lord Aizen said you were to be cleaned before meeting him."

I raised an eyebrow. Like hell I was going to let them 'clean' me. A few moments later I found myself in the bath tub. The Arrancar was stronger than I had anticipated and Toushiro was still exhausted from earlier. So I had no choice but to grip the edges of the tub for my life as the hollow scrubbed my back with almost bruising force. After what felt like an eternity I was lifted out of the tub and dropped onto a pile of towels. It felt as if the top layer of my skin had been scrubbed off and the water had been scalding hot. I hurriedly covered myself and glared at the Arrancar. It was muttering something about how it shouldn't have to be a baby sitter with its strength or something like that. Then with the least amount of gentleness possible it re-bandaged my calf and hand. Both were covered with deep purple bruises and my ring finger looked like it was dislocated. I winced as the hollow manhandled me but at least it looked like it knew what it was doing with the first aid and all.

A white robe was thrown at my head. "Put this on." It growled.

I complied and once again I was stumbling behind it as I dragged me down another hallway. This time I was thrown into what looked like a dining room. The door closed shut behind me with a loud thud and I was pulled up to a long table and made to sit in one of the chairs near the end.

Aizen was sitting at the head sipping a glass of tea or sake. The table was burdened with more food than I had ever seen in my life. My stomach began to growl softly and I clenched my jaw in annoyance.

The Arrancar faded into the wall behind me and Aizen beamed at me with a sickeningly fake smile, I scowled back surprising myself. I should have been petrified to be in the same room as him. My chest was even throbbing dully. Where was this bravado coming from?

"I hope you had a restful sleep, Hyōka. You must be starving."

"Cut the crap, Aizen, what do you want with me?" I sneered ignoring the Arrancar who was filling a bowl of rice for me.

"You'll find out soon enough. Now eat." the last part sounded more like a command than a request.

I stared at the food uneasily. I took a deep breath trying to calm my jittery nerves. I was literally less than five feet away from Aizen, the person who could kill me with a snap of his fingers.

"You don't have to worry about poison; I need you alive for this."

I grimaced, "Which is what exactly?"

He just took another sip of his drink.

I had taken to tapping my fingers on the table top; I only ever fidgeted when I was really nervous.

"I'm surprised you're this calm." he observed. "It must be the warrior in you taking over."

I narrowed my eyes. "What do you want with me?"

"Like I said back in the world of the living, to help you complete your powers. You have a lot of potential and I can help you unlock it."

"What if I said I didn't want your help?"

He started to chuckle, "But I've been helping you for your entire life. As soon as Hitsugaya-kun died-"

"You killed him you mean." I snapped.

He glared at me. "It's impolite to interrupt people. As soon as Hitsugaya-kun died, I went looking for his reincarnation. It didn't take me that long to find you and from that day on I've been sliding little hints, pushing you in the right direction to help your powers grow. Who do you think stopped all the hollows from killing you off when you were a baby or sent all those ghosts after you? You needed to be exposed to the spiritual world so your powers could start to develop. But soon you interacting with ghosts wasn't enough, you needed more. What better way than to get you in contact with a Shinigami? It was a bit risky because you were supposed to be a secret from them, but there was no other way. So I arranged for your family to move to Karakura town."

"That was Mikami's choice." I didn't want to believe any of this. My life had _not_ been planned out by this lunatic.

"No. I was the one who lead her to the advertisement in the news paper. I sparked her interest. And of course it was easy to get her fired from her old job."

"_You're _the one who started that fire! Seven people were injured you bastard! I had to do community service, I was almost sent to juvie!"

His chuckle was like cold metal and it sent shivers down my spine. "Then in Karakura Town it was easy to get you to meet Kurosaki Ichigo. And afterwards he took over in cultivating your powers, unintentionally of course."

"What are you talking about? Kurosaki kept everything a secret."

"Didn't you wonder why your nightmares got worse with the move to Karakura? Or why your anxiety was more of a problem? That's because the more spiritual pressure you were exposed to the more your powers grew. Hitsugaya's memories came faster, did they not?"

"That's because they were giving me prompts to remember..."

"That helped speed up the process as well, but even if they had left you alone you would have remembered eventually. Hitsugaya wasn't going to go without a fight."

"Why..." I wasn't sure how to ask this. Not to mention that each moment he looked at me I could literally feel my mask of bravado crumbling away bit my bit. I wanted to bolt from the room, but my mind told me that would be a very bad idea. "Why isn't he... why is he still... alive?"

Aizen's grin grew. I flinched and my heart beat pick up pace. "Because he – to put it crudely – never died."

"What?"

"You and he share a soul."

"How is that even possible? In reincarnation the soul is supposed to be wiped clean before it enters the next cycle. I don't think you even know what you're talking about. And of course he died, you freaking killed him!"

A cloud passed over Aizen's face and I tried to sink into my chair and appear as if he didn't scare me at the same time. "Do not test me, Hyōka. You do not want to add any more pain onto your plate. Now, the only reason Hitsugaya's soul didn't go through the same reincarnation process as normal was because of this little thing called the Hogyoku."

I blinked and Toushiro drew a sharp breath.

"What is that?"

He just grinned even wider. "It means that Hitsugaya is part hollow and has been implanted in your soul. In other words you're a new breed of Visored which I intend to investigate."

Visored... I knew that word.

_You should. A Visored is a shinigami who has also obtained hollow powers... through the Hogyoku._ Toushiro informed me. He sounded agitated upon hearing this news.

_And what is the Hogyoku?_

_It's an orb that can be used to dissolve the boundaries between hollow and Shinigami. It can grant one the powers of the other. It can also grant someone their deepest desire. _His voice was trembling now.

_Hey, you okay?_

_I will be._

_You can talk to me if you want._

_Not now. Later. Pay attention to what is in front of you. He can attack us at any moment._

_Oh, yeah._

"Why?" I asked coming back to reality.

"Because you are a little power mine and, with a little experimenting, you will become even more powerful than the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society."

"And you assume that I'm going to be on your side?" I willed myself to stay calm.

He grinned, "You're already here. Now eat up."

...

After dinner I was locked in a small room with nothing but a tiny cot and a barred window. I sat on the edge of the cot with my head in my hands. I wanted to go home. There was nothing I wanted more at the moment. I just wanted to see Mikami and Teito and Ichigo again. But this time I was never going to see them again. I know I said that a lot recently, but this time I knew it was true. I felt my throat constrict. It usually took a while for things to hit me and now they did. I was never going to go home again. As in never. I grabbed a fistful of hair and tugged. I was never going to hear Mikami fretting over my eating habits, or have Teito ruffle my hair, or see Ichigo's stupid smile ever again. I felt a few tears slide down my cheeks.

My life as I knew it had ended and here I was as a test subject to a madman who had already killed me once before. I started to sob. How could life be so cruel, so unfair? I didn't deserve this. Why had I been chosen to be a guinea pig? And then there was the fact that Aizen had been priming me for my whole life. Was I just an object to them, was my life a game? I wanted to scream and punch something until my voice was gone and my hands were bloody stumps. What the hell was going on? Why were people so interested in me? I certainly didn't feel powerful and I had done nothing to make me feel otherwise. I was nothing but unlucky as it seemed. Both of my parents were dead, I had been all but ostracised from society because of how I looked and I struggled with anxiety. Then I find out that I'm the reincarnation of Shinigami captain, am constantly attacked by Arrancars, everyone refuses to tell me what's going on, and now I had been kidnapped by the very man who Ichigo had promised was never going to hurt me again.

Ichigo... how I longed to have him here with me just to hear him say it was all going to be alright. I just wanted to feel his reiatsu and know I was safe. Right now I felt lost, weak, and helpless, not to mention frustrated and confused. My throat was painfully tight and my sobs were echoing around the empty room. Aizen was going to... I couldn't even say it, and there was nothing I could do to stop him. His brown eyes kept on flashing across my mind and I felt his sword stab my chest over and over again. The tears came harder and faster than before. I was so scared, I'll admit it. I nearly peed myself when I saw Aizen. And now that I finally had some time to think about all of this my anxiety took control. I gasped fighting for air and tears mixed with sweat. I shut my eyes as tight as I could and clenched my jaw. It felt as though my heart was having palpitations and I was shaking like a leaf. Just as a new wave of fear was about to crash over me a cool hand was placed on my cheek.

_Hyōka..._

I cracked an eye open to see a pair of teal eyes blinking back at me... my own eyes blinking back at me. I swallowed and took a deep breath trying to calm myself. Toushiro had pulled me back onto the plain of ice and was now squatting in front of me.

_Stop, please. We're going to get out of this. I'm not going to let Aizen win again. _Toushiro said through a clenched jaw.

_How can you be so calm through all of this? _I asked. _Aren't you scared? You just found out that you're a freaking hollow!_

_I... yes, I'm not going to lie to you. I'm terrified. He killed me once; who's to say he won't do it again. But mark my words Hyōka, I have my pride and I'll be damned if I let Aizen know he's getting to me. _

_You're... you're really strong aren't you?_

_You are too. Remember that the only reason you're here is to protect your brother and sister. _

He sat back as I wiped the last bit of tears from my face. He was looking back at me with a small frown and I realised that I could finally see his face. I would have first thought that I was looking in a mirror but then I noticed a few slight differences in the slant of our cheekbones and the shape of our lips and his eyes. Their shape and colour were identical to mine but Toushiro's held a depth to them like he had seen more than I could ever hope to and that he had experienced more than I could even imagine. I found that I couldn't hold his gaze.

_I can see your face now... _I mumbled.

His eyes widened a fraction. _Power really is uncovered in times of need. We might be able to get out of this yet._

* * *

__**I know everyone's thinking 'finally' but because of the extra long wait I can assure you that the next... say about five chapters or so are going to be fast...er paced than before.**

**Hitsugaya being a hollow and Hyoka being a Visored is my attempt at being original hope it's not too cheesy :/ and Aizen (along with Yamamoto) is one of the characters that I find it extremely hard to write for so if he seems ooc then you know why...**

**Well that's all I can think of putting into this author's note... so review please?**

**-Mymomomo**


	23. Chapter 23

**Hello again readers. So, this time I have an actual announcement! **

**So, I've decided that it's time for a new summary. The only thing is I'm not very good with summaries. That being the case I'm asking you readers who would like, to come up with a summary for this story. And to motivate you people more I'm going to give the author of my favourite summary a one-shot-side sotry or omake of their choice. Exciting huh? **

**So If anyone's interested just PM me your summary and prompts or story line for the omake. And the winner's choice of story will be posted in the next chapter. **

**So now with that on your mind, enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

I think Aizen's palace was designed like a maze. I had only taken about five steps down a corridor and already I was lost. It didn't help that everything was painted the same colour. I felt like I was losing my mind because I could have sworn that I had already passed down this corridor at least five times before. I stumbled into a dead end and huffed. At this rate, Aizen would figure out that I had escaped my cell before I found an exit. I needed to get out and I needed to do it fast.

_What was that spell you used earlier? _I asked Toushiro.

He raised an eyebrow._ I don't have enough energy to cast another kido spell. I'm sorry, but we're going to have to do this manually. _

_We don't have time! _

_Would you rather casting another spell and probably fainting right after or actually having a chance at getting out of here even if it means searching a few more corridors? _

He had a point. After using a spell called Red Flame Cannon to knock down my cell door, I barely even had the strength to be running around like I was right now. Another spell would surely knock me out cold. I grit my teeth; I hated being wrong. I turned around and attempted to retrace my steps. There had to be an opening to outside somewhere. If only I knew what this place looked like, a ground plan sure would have been useful right about now. Toushiro had also drawn up blank on that one, saying that he had never been to Hueco Mundo.

It took me another ten minutes to find a window. I mentally celebrated; I was this much closer to being home. I could see Mikami, Teito, Ichigo, Ariwa, Kasai and even Adachi welcoming me back home. I felt myself start to grin until I felt Toushiro pull control of my body.

_What are you doing? _I hissed.

_We need to break the glass and I don't think you can do it without my help. _

I looked at my hand to see a sizeable ice lance forming. My shoulder was drawn back and with a deafening crash the glass was shattered. Shards flew everywhere and I had to cover my eyes as I felt a few graze my face.

Now there was a gaping hole where the large, arched window had been. I stared out at the black night sky, which seemed even darker than normal because of the white sand hills that stretched for miles in every direction. I took a deep breath; the cool air smelt of freedom. And then I realised the implications of what I was about to do.

Yes, I admit that I should have seen this coming since Toushiro had said the word window, but I hadn't connected the facts. Now, as I stood at the edge of the building looking down at the forty or so foot drop down to solid ground, my limbs locked up and I started to sweat. My stomach could have given a tsunami competition and my muscles were going into spasms.

_No way. _I muttered and even in my mind my voice sounded shaky.

Toushiro growled. _Do you have a better idea? _

_I'm not jumping out of this thing!_

_You have to; it's our only way of escaping. What are you so scared of anyway?_

_Um, I don't know. Maybe it's the whole falling forty feet thing? _

_You're not going to get hurt, trust me. _

I paused and glanced downwards again. My stomach clenched, threatening to send up its contents. I ducked back inside my heart beating even faster than before.

_I c-can't. _I stammered, hanging my head.

Toushiro took a deep breath. _If you don't jump now they're going to find us and take us back to Aizen. _

_I can't, _I repeated.

_What do you mean you can't? Are you just going to stand here waiting to get captured again?_

I was silent. I wanted to escape, more than anything else really, but I knew that making that jump was impossible for me. If I kept on trying to force myself I _was_ going to have a panic attack.

_Hyōka, come on. _Toushiro insisted. _We've gotten too far for you to just give up now. _

_I'm not giving up. _I gritted my teeth_. You live inside my head. You should know that I physically can't make the jump. My body won't let me._

He huffed and drew back control of my body. _It's mind over matter. We're going to escape. _

He took a step, then another, and then my knees locked, my body froze, and I went crashing to the ground. He swore out loud but it came out sounding like a pained grunt due to my hyperventilating. I cursed myself. The exit was literally right in front of me but I was too scared to take it.

_Come on, Hyōka, trust me. You're not going to get hurt. _

I wanted to believe him. I knew that he could stop me from getting hurt but there was a little part of me – a very strong little part of me – that over powered all reason and told me that if I jumped I would die. The fall would kill me, simple as that.

I swallowed and managed another glance through the hole. Just then a wave of dizziness over took me and I hand to brace myself on my hands and knees to stop from tipping over.

"Damnit," I spat through a clenched jaw.

"And what do we have here?"

Aizen's voice sent shivers down my spine and every single muscle in my body tensed. I didn't think that it was possible for my stomach to contort itself more than it already was. I was letting go a torrent of swear words in my mind. He had found me, and it was all because of my stupid irrational fear of heights. I was not going to forgive myself for this. How could I be so useless?

"What do you think you're doing, Hyōka-kun?"

I swallowed, fighting down the rising panic. "What does it look like?" I spat, the tremor in my voice surprisingly gone.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "You're just full of surprised aren't you, little one?"

"Don't call me little, you bastard."

His eyes hardened and suddenly his hand was around my throat.

_Hyōka!_ Toushiro cried as I began gasping for air. I clawed at the hand around my neck.

"Now you listen to me and you listen well. The more you keep defying my wishes the more pain you're going to be in."

"I-I'm... not... y-your-r... sla-ave." I choked out, glaring at him with all my might.

"Not yet."

I let out a startled gasp as what felt like a lightning bolt shot through my neck. He let go of me and I went crashing to the ground coughing and wheezing, tasting more than a little blood lace the back of my throat.

"That should teach you to watch your mouth. "

He snapped his fingers and two Arrancar magically appeared behind him.

"Take him back to his cell and send word to prepare the operating room."

My eyes widened. One of the Arrancar pulled me up and pinned my arms behind my back.

"If you think I'm going to go willingly then you've got something coming," I sneered. It hurt to talk and my voice sounded like a toad that had swallowed needles and vinegar.

"So defiant," Aizen drawled as he passed his palm over my eyes.

I felt all my energy drain from me, what little I had left anyway. I couldn't even fight the darkness that suddenly took over.

...

Everyone says I was too young to remember that day, but I can recall it as easily as breathing. It was a warm morning. I remember trying to take off the heavy, black jacket I was forced to wear but Mikami kept on putting it back on so eventually I gave up. I squirmed uncomfortably for most of the ceremony. My tie was too tight, my shoes were stiff and made my heels hurt, and my jacket sleeves kept on slipping past my fingers. There was no wind that day. The rain drops fell straight downwards during the light drizzle at the end of the ceremony. I also remember having to carry a bouquet of white chrysanthemums. Everyone was worried that I was going to fall, but I didn't. Plus, tears from a scraped knee wouldn't have been too out of place anyway.

People kept on coming over to me, petting my head and hugging me. One person even picked me up and hugged me so tightly that I tried with all my might to wiggle out of the hold until I saw the look Mikami was giving me. I then fell limp and let them hug me to their heart's content. Almost everyone who passed my siblings and me quickly wiped their tears and pulled on sad smiles. Teito was given pats on the shoulder, handshakes, and the occasional one handed hug. Mikami was offered small smiles, kisses on the cheeks, and smothering embraces. I was given candy.

I had to stand in the center of a sea of black and endure the heavy smell of incense and women's perfume. I held on to Teito's pants scared that I would get swallowed up and lost in all the people. I hid behind him when one too many people invaded my personal space. More than a few people complimented me on my good behaviour. They praised me for being such a good, strong little boy for not crying. I knew that they thought I didn't understand what was going on. So, when some distant cousin or good family friend – I don't know exactly what she was – picked me up and carried me to the coffin no one stopped her.

"See, Hyōka-chan, see how restful she looks? Mama's just sleeping. She's happy. She's happy now," she whispered in my ear.

I remember glaring at her – even at five my glare stopped adults in their tracks – and then shocking everyone in hearing range. "She's not sleeping, she's dead, and you're stupid if you think she's going to wake up." My voice cracked and I started crying.

Mikami rescued me from the woman soon after but I kept on crying and watched on as the coffin was closed and decorated with flowers.

I remember refusing to set foot into the crematorium. It was custom for the family to watch as the body was slid into the cremation chamber. That was one of the many traditions that I had broken. I screamed, balled, kicked, bit, and punched. Everyone was amazed that the sweet, gentle boy from earlier had turned into this wailing monster. In the end, none of us watched the cremation. Mikami didn't have the heart to and, as the new head of the family, Teito refused to leave our side.

That was one of my clearest memories from my childhood. It may seem morbid to say so, but almost everything else is blurry. I wish it were the other way around, that I remembered the happy things instead of the sad things because it was a long time before anything happy happened to me.

I frowned and raised my hand to wipe a tear from my cheek. I always shed a tear or two when I thought of my mother; it was inevitable. I cracked open an eye expecting to see the blank ceiling of my cell. At first it was the stark, white ceiling I thought I was seeing but then I realised that I wasn't staring at a plastered surface but rather a what looked like a stormy sky, except both the clouds and sky were white. Where the hell was I? I groggily looked around, but all I could see was white above me, below me, and around me. I was lying down on a slippery surface that reflected the sky above. I sat up taking mental notes. There was a dull ache throughout my body, but, it was heavily concentrated in my head and neck. I was also butt naked. I wasn't really worried about that, though. I was more concerned about Toushiro. He was lying next to me in a similar state except that he was clutching his head and curled up in a ball.

I gingerly reached out and touched his shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong?" I asked. My voice echoed.

He speared me a glance. "Really bad headache," he muttered.

"Can I do anything?"

He shook his head and slowly sat up. "I'll live. Don't worry about it."

I raised an eyebrow. He looked pale...er; I doubt it was just a 'really bad headache'.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Your mind," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"This doesn't look like my mind. What happened to the plain of ice then?"

"Your soul is in distress."

"Why?"

He shot me a withering glance. "Take a wild guess, Hyōka."

I sighed and pulled my knees to my chest. Damn that Aizen. "He started the experimenting didn't he?"

"Hence my headache," he actually winced and clutched the side of his head.

"That bastard. What is he trying to do?"

"By the looks of it he's trying to harness your hollow side – which would be me – by making you re-live your saddest and most hurtful memories."

_That's _why I was thinking of my mother earlier. Her death had nearly succeeding in completely destroying my siblings' and my lives. It was one of the worst... no the worst thing that had happened to us.

"You're fighting against him aren't you?" I abruptly changed my chain of thought before I started to cry again.

Toushiro gave me an odd glance. "Part of me wants to jump up from the operating table and rip off his face, but I know that's exactly what he wants. So yes, I'm fighting him."

I frowned. "So why aren't I feeling any of this?"

He removed his hand from his head and stared at me. I could have sworn for a split second that his eyes were gold. "Can you not see him? Take a look around, Hyōka. The reason should be clear."

I rolled my eyes but looked around anyway. I realised that Toushiro and I were lying on a block of ice only big enough for the two of us. We were floating on a misty lake. The waters were a glassy, grey colour and coulds of fog lay suspended inches from the surface. Then I heard it a low whoosh of air as if a very large bird was beating its wings. I became aware that I had been hearing this for some time now. I looked up as a shadow passed overhead and gasped. My breath caught in my throat and I gapped in wonderment.

Circling right above us was the biggest dragon I had ever seen... well the only dragon I had even seen but still, if I had seen any dragons I'm sure this one would have been the biggest. He was what forty, fifty feet long? His wings alone looked like they could serve as runways for small airplanes. The light reflected off his scales making them shine. They looked as though they were made of ice. Somehow he – how did I know it was a him? – knew I was watching him and he changed direction swooping down lower until he was just skimming the surface of the water and circling around the block of ice we were sitting on. Small waves splashed against the ice causing it to rock like a small, rubber dinghy. He was even more magnificent up close. I couldn't sit in his presence and found myself slowly rising to my feet. He was made of ice; clouds of condensation rolled off his body and mixed with the mist around us. Each scale caught the light just perfectly making him shine like a mountain lake at sunrise.

Something seemed to amuse him for he huffed softly, a puff of condensation escaping from his nose and turned his head to me for a second. His blood red eyes were sparkling with something I wasn't sure of but he looked happy to see me. My jaw dropped of its own accord.

"Amazing isn't he?" Toushiro asked.

I jumped, remembering that he was there. The boy chuckled softly.

"He's shielding most of the pain. Try not to distract him too much."

I nodded and spun in slow circles following the dragon as he circled us.

"How did he get here?"

Toushiro frowned. "He was always here, you just weren't aware of his presence. But you remember him now, don't you? You know him. He's been with you for all of your life."

My eyes widened. This dragon looked like a live version of, "Hyourinmaru..." I breathed.

A low rumbling like an earthquake echoed through my head. "It's good to see you too." I smiled. Hyourinmaru did a sort of half loop. His wings hit the water sending a large wave into the ice block causing it to tip dangerously to the side. I yelped and nearly fell over.

Toushiro gave a short laugh before yanking me back to the ground with one hand and rubbing his head with the other. "I think you'll be able to hear him once we get out of this."

... Get out of this. That sentence knocked me off my high. Never mind that I had a great beast living in my head. If I didn't get away from Aizen I would be using Hyourinmaru's powers for evil. I chewed my bottom lip. I just need to –

My thoughts were cut off when Toushiro suddenly lurched forward clutching his head. I caught him before he hit the ground and pulled him into my lap.

"I'm going to... kill him. Kill him, kill him, kill him..." he muttered, grimacing in pain.

His headache was worsening. Even I could I felt it now. Just what the hell was Aizen doing?

"Toushiro?"

His only response was to turn his head and bury it into my stomach. He must have been in a lot of pain... or at least desperately trying to fight off whatever Aizen was doing. The throbbing in my skull had increased to a violent pounding, so I could only imagine what Toushiro was feeling. If only I could do something to help. Then the mark on my chest started to hurt. It stung white hot as if someone was cutting through my chest. I clutched the front of my chest noticing at the back of my mind that Hyourinmaru was circling much faster now. Toushiro's breathing turned into short forceful, breaths and his hand made its way to his chest where I saw he had an identical mark to mine. He had a plethora of scars criss-crossing his body but this one stood out. It was raw and inflamed as if it had been newly head over but picked at.

Years of living with Mikami as my sister kicked in. Ice would help keep down the swelling and numb the pain. I took a deep breath, now how did I do this again? I looked inside of me and tried to draw up some reiatsu. I felt a slight tingle pass through my body and a layer of frost began to cover my finger tips. When I deemed my hand cold enough I released my control on the reiatsu and held my chilled hand to Toushiro's chest. The relief was instantaneous apparently. He looked up at me, surprised, but then a small smile tugged at his lips.

After a few minutes I noticed a shadow looming over us. Toushiro's eyes were fixed on a point over my shoulder and I followed his gaze. Hyourinmaru was hovering right behind me, his long snout only a foot from my shoulder. He let out a deep breath through his nose that enveloped both of us in frigid fog. Toushiro's eyes rolled back and he fell limp in my lap. His breathing evened out and his expression softened. I guess he couldn't feel pain when he was unconscious. I glanced back at Hyourinmaru, who had gone back to circling us.

"Thank you." I said out loud. He rumbled deep in his chest in reply.

I looked back to Toushiro and bit the inside of my cheek. Aizen's 'experimenting' was targeting Toushiro. I didn't quite understand what he wanted. I wasn't even sure what the term Visored meant. There was no way I was going to believe that Toushiro was a hollow either. I had seen hollows and they looked nothing like Toushiro. For all I knew Aizen was just trying to freak me out with his stories.

My hand found Toushiro's lifeless own and I squeezed it gently.

"Don't worry, once I wake up I'm going to get us out of this, and that's a promise."

I might have been many things, but I was proud to say that I was a man of my words.

* * *

**So Hyourinmaru finally appears and just in time too. I've finally reached some sort of apex in the story but we still have quite a few things to go through, including the explanation on how Hyoka's a Visored, so I guess you're going to be stuck with me for... maybe another year.  
**

**And again I'd like to give a huge thanks to my beta. This chapter was let's just say more than a little rough before editing... you all should be thankful. **

**And a bit more about the summary competition thing a few rules for prompts and/or story lines nothing too outlandish please. As in pairings, well I could do a light fluffy one if you so desire but no serious romance. And Future-fics are an option as well, just as long as they won't be in danger of selling out the ending. Other than that go knock yourselves out. Who knows I might end up picking more than one person *shrugs***

**Anyway, leave a note on your way out. It'll be greatly appreciated.**

**-Mymomomo**


	24. Chapter 24

**Hey guys, **

**Sorry for the late update, let's just say I got distracted by an art project and a beauty pageant... I don't really know how I got roped into doing a pageant, I know nothing about being a 'pretty little lady' - I'm not in the pageant, I would rather die, but I am on one of the contestants 'production team'... **

**Anyway, enough about that, here's the new chapter, hope you enjoy it. I have to say it's rather moving. **

**Thanks for all the reviews last time :) **

* * *

It was my first day at Fujimoto Akifumi Middle School and I was nervous for several reasons. One, I didn't know anyone in my class. Any familiar faces from elementary school had been moved to other classes as I had been placed in the advanced class because of my exam scores. Two, I was the youngest in the entire school since I had actually skipped the last year of elementary school. The work had been mind numbingly boring for me so, after a few long discussions with my teachers and family, I was pushed into middle school a year earlier than everyone else. Three, I was also the smallest kid in my class; the person closest in height to me was a full head taller and a girl. And lastly, it seemed like my reputation preceded me. I wasn't a trouble maker, per say, but things happened and I got in trouble because of them.

The other students shot me weird looks and edged away as I passed by. I self-consciously made my way to a desk next to the wall. It felt as if there were a thousand pairs of eyes watching my every move and judging me. I awkwardly pulled out a book from my bag I started to read as though I didn't care about anyone else in the room. Well, I pretended to read but I was actually listening to the conversations going on around me, most of them about me. Each word was like a blow to my self-confidence and I felt my nonchalant facade slipping away bit by bit.

I turned away from the class and hid my face behind the book. I kept on telling myself that what they said about me didn't matter, especially if I didn't let it matter. I didn't care what these people had to say about me. I hadn't come here to make friends anyway. By the looks of it, they did not want to make friends with me either. My book was torn out of my hands and I was forced to stare into the malicious face of a boy at least twice my size.

I backed up as quickly as I could and turned my expression of shock into my signature glare.

"Can I help you?" I asked in a cold, clipped voice.

He raised an eyebrow and smirked, showing two lines of braces. "You're sitting in my seat."

I rolled my eyes. This guy was just looking for trouble. "This can't possibly be your seat. It's the first day; when could you have had time to choose this seat?"

He sneered. "Before you came."

"Well, there was no indication of this seat being spoken for. Now, can I have my book back?"

He held the book out of my reach. "Get out of my seat."

I rolled my eyes again. Common sense told me to do what he said but there was no way I was going to bend my pride enough to submit to the person who was trying to humiliate me. I looked up at him and blinked.

"How 'bout you ask nicely."

"Will you get out of my seat?"

"So close... you could add a 'please' somewhere in there."

The next thing I knew the book made contact with the side of my head and went crashing to the floor. The rest of the fight was a blur and I only remember being yanked off the other boy by another student. I was shoved back into a desk and found myself glaring at a tall, lanky boy with cold, grey eyes. From the way he wore his uniform, in pristine shape – if it could have sparkled I think it would have – I could tell he was some sort of overachiever, class president candidate probably.

"That's enough of that. I won't tell the teacher if you stop now, but I'm going to warn you, if I see you causing any more trouble in this class I will not hesitate to get you in trouble."

I scowled at him, "I suppose I should be thankful, then? How gracious of you."

He sneered, "I've heard about you, Takemitsu. I do not like your kind of person. So, yes, I am being gracious."

"My kind of person?"

"Troublemaker, lazy, yet able to fly through school on smarts alone. You don't deserve half the opportunities you've been blessed with."

I grit my teeth and clenched my fists. "You don't know me so stop assuming things."

He just gave a short laugh, "That was your first warning. I'm not going to be so lenient next time."

I learnt his name a few days after. Sato Haruto was air marked to be many great things, class president being one of them. He was loved by mostly everyone in the school, teachers and students alike. He was good at sports, an amazing musician, he was part of charity clubs, and at the top of the class. The only thing that came between him and being number one in everything was me. I had the highest marks seen in the whole of grade seven. I was a full five points above him and that was something Haruto would never forgive. So, he made my life hell. Since everyone loved him it went without saying that everyone hated me. Needless to say my two months at that school were not pleasant. A small part of me was glad that I had gotten expelled.

...

I clung onto the rungs of the ladder for dear life. Tears poured down my cheeks and I was screaming myself hoarse. This was the first panic attack I remember having. I must have been five or six at the time. All I really remember was being unbelievably scared, unable to breathe or stop myself from shaking like a leaf. My hands and feet had gone numb and I could feel my heart beating like a hammer in my chest. I thought I was going to die. But then, at the time all I really knew was that I was scared of heights. So I had more than likely attributed the panic to that.

I had been forced halfway up a ladder leaning against a pear tree. There was a boy behind me laughing and preventing me from climbing back down. Not that I could have even moved at that point; I was literally frozen with fear. A circle of children had formed around the base of the tree. They looked up, laughing, drowning out the sound of my cries.

That was the first and last party I had ever gone to. Even from a young age I had always been a social outcast, so when I had received an invitation I was more than ecstatic. I had always listened to tales of parties from a distance. I listened in envy as I heard of all the presents, my stomach churning longingly when the cake was mentioned, and I sat in wistful silence when the games were talked about. Every time birthday party invitations were passed out I looked on in desire, hoping that I might get one this time, but knowing that I wouldn't.

I had been invited to a party by a boy who was slightly more civil to me than the others. He didn't snicker whenever I answered the teacher's questions or shy away and glare when I passed by. He didn't tease me about how I looked or try to steal my lunch. On more than one occasion he had actually come up to me smiling. We had exchanged a few words and I had honestly thought I was finally going to have one of those 'friends' people kept on talking about. At the party he was the one who had trapped me on the ladder and was laughing louder than the rest at my predicament.

In my panic I had accidentally kicked him in the chest. He lost his balance and fell, pulling me down with him. We both got pretty banged up and the ladder fell on top of us to make things even worse. He started crying as well. That got the attention of his mother and she ushered us inside and patched us up. I was still crying, feeling as if my chest was going to explode and I was shaking very badly. But even though it was obvious that there was something wrong with me the story that I had kicked him in the chest on purpose circulated. After that, even parents were wary of me, saying that I had violent tendencies and didn't feel safe knowing I was around their children.

I guess six is a young age to decide to never trust anyone ever again but after that day I made it a point to never open up to anyone... at least not willingly.

...

"Koko-chan, come here, it's time for dinner," my mother called from the kitchen.

I jumped up from my colouring book, grabbed Hyourinmaru and scrambled to the kitchen. She smiled widely and scooped me up hugging me lightly before placing me in my booster seat. I placed hyourinmaru in my lap as she set down a bowl in front of me.

"No sweetie, Hyourinmaru can't eat dinner with you." she sighed quickly snatching him from me.

"No!" I cried reaching for him, almost knocking over my food.

"Calm down, Hyōka. Look I'm putting him over here, so he won't get dirty. He can watch us eat our dinner. Now, be a good boy and eat up."

I had barely taken three bites when I heard her drop her chopsticks. I looked at her with a small frown. She looked as though she had heard something. Her eyes went this way and that as if she was looking for something.

"Mommy, what's wrong?" I asked.

She shot up knocking her chair over and she grabbed me from my seat. "Go hide, Hyōka." she instructed, her voice sharp.

"Why?"

"Now!" she yelled. She only ever yelled at me when I had done something wrong. I backed up, my eyes wide.

Just then there was a loud crack and I heard the front door bang against the wall. My mother gasped as picked me up again. Now, I knew something was definitely wrong.

"What was that?" I asked. "Who came in?"

She hushed me none to gently. I flinched and stared at her in confusion. Why was she acting like this? She just placed a light kiss on my forehead.

"I need to you be good, Hyōka." she whispered.

"But what's going on?" I murmured.

She didn't answer and ran to the bedroom. She closed the door, locked it, and jammed a chair under the handle. Her eyes were wide and she scanned the room looking for something. Her worry was starting to scare me. I whimpered and wrapped my arms around her neck. She squeezed me a little tighter and then the next thing I knew she was shoving me to the furthest corner in the closet.

"Stay here, Hyōka. I'm going to close the door okay? I want you to stay quiet," she was still whispering.

"Why, what's happening? Who's in the house?" I refused to let go of her shirt. I could feel her heart pounding quickly. My own sped up to match.

She shook her head and pried my hands away from her. "Pretend we're playing hide and seek. No sound or else we'll know where you're hiding."

"No," I refused to let go. "Hide with me." Something bad was going to happen, I just knew it.

There was a loud thud right outside the door and what sounded like heavy footsteps echoed throughout the room.

"Mom!"

She hugged me tightly and kissed me on my forehead before forcing my hands away from her. "I love you, Hyōka, be strong."

My eyes widened and, before I knew it, the closet door was slammed shut and I heard the click of a lock. I was engulfed in darkness and I felt tears form in my eyes.

There was a loud bang and the bedroom door swung open with a whoosh. I wanted to shout out but she had told me to keep quiet, so I covered my mouth with my hands and sunk further into the corner. I heard the dull noise of voices; I couldn't hear exactly what they said, but I heard my mother say, 'there's no one else here.' Her voice was loud and strong. Her tone was fearless; it told me to be brave. I wrapped my arms around myself, thinking of Hyourinmaru, who I had left on the kitchen counter. Be strong. Tears still fell down my face and I couldn't help but sniffle a bit. I had to do this for my mother. I had to-

_Thump. _

My eyes widened and I flinched at the noise. It sounded like someone had fallen to the ground or had been pushed.

_Crash, bang, thud, thud, bang. _

I covered my ears, but the sounds were still as loud as ever. I felt the tears flow faster. I was scared; my mom was in trouble. The bad guys were attacking her; I needed to get help. I forgot what she had told me about keeping quiet and ran to the door. I reached up to the handle, but it refused to turn. My throat tightened and my stomach felt sick.

_Thud_.

The door actually moved, like someone had been slammed into it. I stumbled back.

"Mommy!" I scrambled back to the door and began pounding on it like my life depended on it.

There were no more sounds coming from the other side and that scared even more than the noises had. Something warm and wet was soaking into the carpet. My socks sucked up the liquid like thirsty dogs, the carpet squelched when I moved, and it smelt weird, like a rusty pipe. I screamed. I screamed like I never had before. My heart froze and it felt like something had broken inside my chest.

"Mommy! Mommy! _Mommy! MOMMY!"_

I was banging on the door as hard as I could. It felt as though a monster had wrapped its hands around my heart and was trying to pull me into the darkest corner of the closet. I was shaking, in both fear and from the sudden cold. I felt as though I had swallowed twenty ice cubes in the middle of winter.

I screamed until my throat felt like sandpaper. I cried until my eyes were swollen shut and I banged on the door until my hands were full of splinters and the skin was gone from my knuckles. I had no idea how long I had been trapped in the closet, but when it was finally opened, everything was a blur. I was passed from person to person, picked up and hugged. But comfort meant nothing to me right now and I stared at the horrid sight in front of me.

My mother's body lay on the ground. Her greying hair splayed on the carpet like a stilled river and her eyes closed. A deep red, almost black circle was carved into her chest. The front of her shirt was dyed red as well as the carpet. A pool of blood spread out from her body, soaking into the carpet and flowed into the closet I had been rescued from. The neighbour tried to stop me from seeing her, but it was too late. That sight would be forever etched into my memory. I started screaming again knowing that I would never be able to stop.

...

I jolted awake, tears streaming down my face. Toushiro was leaning over me; his eyes were rimmed with red and tear tracks stained his cheeks. Wordlessly, he helped me to sit up and pulled me into a hug. I cried into his shoulder. Eventually, my tears stopped and I deemed myself able to sit up without help. He refused to let me go, however, so instead of fighting him I lay my head against his shoulder. We sat in silence while Hyourinmaru flew in circles above us.

"Sorry," I muttered at length, "I had no reason to break down like that."

I could practically feel him roll his eyes. "Idiot, you just re-lived your mother's death. You have every reason to cry."

"Crying is not going to help us get out of here."

He sighed. "It helps guard against Aizen's tests, a little. It offers slight relief."

I frowned, "Is that why you-"

He shook his head, "I am you, seeing that was just as painful for me as it was for you."

"...Aizen killed her. It was an Arrancar that attacked that day. The reiatsu is familiar now that I can place it." my vision began to cloud again.

Toushiro said nothing. He just wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

"I'm going to kill him when we get out of this," my voice shook in anger.

"I believe you."

I couldn't stop myself from crying. The tears came hard and fast. My life had really been plotted out by this madman. He had treated me like I was nothing more than a pawn in his game. My mother... he had killed her on a whim. I clenched my jaw so tightly I swore I felt a molar crack. I felt a monster rise in my chest. It clawed at my heart, pulling little strings that caused me to see red. I curled my hands into fists, feeling a slight sting as my nails cut into my palms. God I hated Aizen. When the time came I was going to kill him slowly. I was going to make him beg for mercy. I was going to make him regret turning my life into this sick game and I was going to enjoy every moment of it.

Toushiro clutched me tightly to him and then forced my face up to look at him. He was smiling. His mouth was contorted, open much wider than it should have been. His teeth were now jagged points. His eyes had gone from cool teal to gold; the whites had gone black as well. His grin was feral and he started to laugh. It was a twisted laugh, it sounded crazy but tinged with anger and a bit of grief.

"That's right, Aizen is to blame. We're going to kill him, slowly. Kill! Kill everyone who has put you through this hell!" His voice was distorted; it reminded me of shattering glass. His hold on me got increasingly tighter as well. "Kill! Ki-"

There was a deafening roar and Hyourinmaru made a nosedive for the block of ice. He pulled up at the last second and whipped his tail around, lashing the both of us in our faces. I flew back, sliding off the ice block. My jaw felt as though it was dislocated. I slammed into the icy water yelping in alarm. I had actually bumped the surface of the lake a few times before I fell in. I inhaled gallons of water out of shock. My chest began to burn and I resurfaced spluttering, coughing, and gasping for air all at the same time. Grey swells covered most of my vision as the water swept me this way and that.

What the hell, Hyourinmaru? A short way off I could see him swoop down to the water's surface. He dipped the tip of his snout into the lake and ice began to spread outwards from his scales. In less than a minute the water was calm and he had created a platform of ice large enough for him to land on. Once grounded he turned towards me, his ruby eyes were grim like he was disappointed. He extended his neck and plucked me from the water. I winced when I felt his teeth enclose around me, but his grip was gentle. He plopped me down under his wing, like a mother bird would have done with a hatchling, and repeated the same action for Toushiro.

We both huddled against his side, one of his wings blanketed us and the rest of his body formed a tight coil around us. The ice should have been hard and uncomfortable, but it felt softer than the softest down blanket I had ever felt. Under Hyourinmaru's scales there was this sort of warmth. I could feel a strong steady pulse as... blood rushed through his veins. I blinked in amazement; this dragon really was a force to be reckoned with. A dragon made entirely out of ice with a pulse, now that was something incredible.

"What was that about?" I muttered. "He could have decapitated me with that."

Hyourinmaru let out a short growl. His chest vibrated with the sound of a revving chainsaw.

Toushiro snorted weakly. He looked worn out for some reason. "You better be thankful for that. He just stopped me from losing control."

"What?"

"I'm a hollow remember..." he laughed bitterly.

I blinked... so he had been a hollow for a second? Why was it so hard to believe that he was one of those monsters?

"This is what Aizen wants. He wants me to lose control. He wants us to sink into madness, to be overwhelmed by anger. He can utilise us in that state."

I grit my teeth. "Well, I'll be damned if I let him." I reached out and grabbed Toushiro's hand. I noticed that he was paler than normal. The blue-green veins on the back of his hand stood stark against his ashen skin. "We have to be stronger than this. Mom told me... us to be strong. Those were her final words; I'm going to start to live up to them."

...

The only reason I knew I was awake was the pain. Every inch of my body felt like fire and needles were coursing through my veins. It hurt to move, to breathe, to even think. The after effects of my panic attacks were minimal compared to this. My vision was blurry; it might have been from tears, I wasn't too sure. And there was this vicious pounding in my head. If someone had been bashing my brains with a sledgehammer this is what it would have felt like. I couldn't even concentrate on what was happening around me, it clouded all my senses. I closed my eyes, trying to abate the pain in my head but it was no use; the throbbing continued.

"Oh, you're awake now."

I tried to focus on the speaker. I'm sure it was Aizen but all I could really make out were moving blobs and faded colours.

"How are you feeling?"

Yep, it was Aizen. Only that bastard could ask such a concerned question and make it seem like a threat. I felt anger well up in my chest. I wanted to tear him apart limb from limb for what he did to me, but I was tied down. I could vaguely feel straps around my wrists, ankles and chest.

"Unable to talk? That was expected, after all the screaming you did."

Was that a hint of pleasure in his voice? I tried to focus on his face and hoped the harshness of my glare hadn't been diminished through all this pain. I saw burry lips part in a smile. I snarled in disgust and lobbed a wad of spit into his face. I wasn't surprised to see that it was red. His only reaction was to straighten and to flick the glob of saliva from his cheek.

"Still resisting, are you? I guess I'm not trying hard enough then."

"You're going to have to kill me before I give in to you." I snarled. My voice was an unrecognisable gurgling, a hoarse mush. I felt a trickle of blood drip down the side of my chin. Damn, everything hurt so much.

"I'm prepared to do that much, Hyōka-kun. Up the dosage to forty-five percent saturation for the next trial."

Before I could even comprehend his sentence I felt gloved hands around my head. I was held still with an iron-like grip. The pressure on my skull increased and I didn't dare to move in fear that my head would be cracked open. Then there was a tiny pin-prink right over my right ear and then liquid fire coursed through my head. I gasped at the sudden pain. The agony I felt before paled in comparison to this. It felt as if my head was being burnt by molten steel. It throbbed, it stung, it burned, and that wasn't even half of it. I was screaming at the top of my lungs, my already strained voice cracked and my vocal chords felt like they were going to rip apart.

"STOP! STOP, GODAMNIT STOOOP!"

Far away I heard Aizen chuckling. "I think fifty percent should do the trick."

I didn't even fell the next injection, but I did feel when the pain seemed to double. My voice gave up on me; however, my mouth remained open in a silent scream. The pain spread from my head to the furthest reaches of my body, my toes, even my fingertips felt like they were being submerged in magma. I thrashed against my bindings but they held fast.

"Seventy-five..."

I've heard of being paralyzed by fear but as the pain further increased I found my limbs begin to lock into place. It was like some invisible blanket of steel was wrapped around me. All I could do was shut my eyes and wait for it to be over. Heavy streams of tears ran down my face.

"Stop."

The fire slowly receded from my limbs, leaving my muscles, veins, my everything throbbing. My heart was having palpitations and my breathing was harsh and erratic. Convulsions wracked my chest and I began to sob like a baby.

"Are you ready yet Hyōka? You know, you can make this all stop by simply giving into me."

I didn't answer, I couldn't. I didn't have the strength or will power.

I heard Aizen click his tongue in annoyance. "That's enough for today. Think about your situation, Hyōka. We'll pick this up tomorrow, unless you decide differently."

From a distance, I heard two or three people leave the room. A door slid shut and locked with a click and the lights flickered off. I was left in complete silence and darkness. All I could hear was my own ragged breathing and sobs. Everything hurt so much. If I could raise my head to see the rest of my body I would not have been surprised to see countless bruises and cuts or a missing limb or two. I think I slipped in and out of consciousness at least twenty times in a very short span of time. My brain felt like each neuron had been fried and I had trouble forming coherent thoughts. I had given up on moving. Even wiggling my little toe felt like I was slicing it open with a white-hot razor blade.

_Hyōka... _ Toushiro murmured.

_It hurts, _I moaned, blinking away a few tears. They fell anyway.

_I know, _he sighed, _here, I'll try to ease it a bit._

He drew control over my body. That didn't lessen the pain but he pushed my fried senses to the back of my mind. It took great effort and control on his part to ignore pain such as this. Then, with what little energy I had left, he channeled a small amount of reiatsu and let it course slowly through my body. The coolness felt like heaven against my heated flesh. I sighed in relief and closed my eyes to revel in the feeling.

Toushiro offered a small smile. _It isn't much, but I hope it helps. _

I nodded slowly. _Has he been doing this to me while I was unconscious? _

_No, he only influenced your dreams and thoughts... mental torture I would say. But since that it didn't work, I'm guessing he's gone to the more primitive form of physical torture. The mental part was targeted at me, but Hyourinmaru was able to filter most of it. I'm guessing that his next plan of action is to make you submit. In the out-world there's not much Hyourinmaru and I can do to protect you from this. He knows that once you give up, that's it. _

_Figures, I've always been stronger in my head than in reality._

_Hey, don't start with that. This is torture we're dealing with. People have lost their minds from it. You're not weak, Hyōka-_

_But neither am I strong._ I muttered as I took back control over my body. I cut off the flow of reiatsu and instantly regretted it as the burning flared up again. I clenched my jaw against the pain.

_What are you doing?_ Toushiro demanded. I heard Hyourinmaru growl in the background.

_What I said I was going to. I'm getting us out of here._

_Not in this condition you're in!_

_This is our only chance. Aizen said he was going to pick this up tomorrow. I can't do this again, Toushiro. I can act as brave as I want to, but the truth of the matter is I don't trust myself to last another round... I might just give into him. I'm not strong enough to withstand him._

Toushiro frowned, but I could see understanding cross his face. Hyourinmaru grumbled, causing my inner-world to tremble.

_You're not well enough to attempt this..._

_It doesn't matter! I can't let him do that to me again, Toushiro. I can't! _

I ignored his other protests and Hyourinmaru's warning growls and turned my attention to the bindings on my wrists. They were simple leather straps, fastened with buckles. Aizen underestimated me, if he thought I wouldn't be able to escape from this. Or maybe he thought his torture would act as a sedative or something. That bastard. I jiggled my wrists around ignoring the jolts of pain that shot up my arm from the movement. I found out that I could slide my arm further through the straps and I was able to curve my hand enough to unbuckle the strap. With one hand free I made light work of the other straps. The only impediment was that it almost hurt too much to move. I was chewing my bottom lip subconsciously. I only discovered that when I tasted fresh blood in my mouth. Once I was free of my bindings I swung my legs over the edge of the operating table. I hissed in pain as my knees knocked together. My nerves were hypersensitive, the light tap felt like I had been slammed with a wrecking ball.

_Hyōka stop!_

I continued to ignore him and stood up. Instantly, I went crashing to the ground and I couldn't help but cry out in pain. I landed on my knees, but they too gave way and I found myself on my stomach. I struggled to get back up despite the fact that my limbs turned unresponsive and started to tremble from exertion. Pain exploded throughout my body and the fire started to course though my veins again. I couldn't stop the whimpers that fell past my lips.

Hyourinmaru growled and my vision began to fade as I felt him pull me into my inner-world. Great, now there were two people who could do that. I blinked and I was staring up at the cloudy sky. Hyourinmaru was still curled up around Toushiro and me.

_Hyōka this is madness, your body can't take any more. _Toushiro scolded me.

I huffed, _We're not going to get out of this any other way._

_Just relax and think about this. _He said at length. _If I'm correct there might be another way out..._

_What are you talking about? There's no other – _that's when I felt it, a faint sliver of a very familiar reiatsu. It's comforting warmth often drowned out the underlying strength, but now the power ran rampant. The pure might combined with intense force was unbelievable. If strength had a tangible form then I think that this would have been it.

_Ichigo, _I breathed, _he came. _

_Of course he came. That idiot wouldn't rest until you were back safe. That's the kind of person he is. _

I couldn't help the smile that broke out on my face. Relief clouded over the pain, but I still felt myself slipping into unconsciousness. After all that had transpired today I didn't have the energy to fight it. I said it before and I'll say it again, I trusted Ichigo. I knew that he would make up from my lack of strength with all that brute force of his. I didn't want to think of myself as some damsel in distress – I could do things myself thank you very much, I did not need to be _rescued_ – but nonetheless, I was glad that he came.

* * *

**And so as promised an omake goes to the author of my new summary, which I'm sure all of you noticed. It's pretty awesome, if I say so myself :)**

**So, a big thanks to xTKx and here's your omake!**

* * *

_So what do you say, hatchling? Do you think you're ready?_

I sighed, I had already told him 'yes' countless times before. I had no idea why he kept on asking me the same question. And what was up with that nickname? Koko-chan I could somewhat deal with, at least it had some resemblance to my name, but hatchling?

_Why hatchling?_ I asked.

He paused and blinked. If he had eyebrows I'm sure one would have been raised. _What?_

_Why do you call me hatchling? _

_That's what you are. _

I paused. He thought of me as a baby dragon. It made sense, I guess, if I had scales, wings, and was a reptile. _I'm not a baby. I'm more than a decade old._

He let out an amused growl. _And I'm almost a millennium. To me you're a hatchling, barely rid of your shell. _

That sounded like an insult. _Well, you're... old. _There wasn't much one could say to affront a dragon.

Hyourinmaru slowly shook his head. _Age is wisdom. I'm glad that I'm old._

I rolled my eyes. _You're obviously not that wise if you keep on referring to me as a dragon when I'm human. _

Hyourinmaru growled, this time out of annoyance.

_Hyōka, Hyourinmaru, that's enough. _Toushiro sighed deciding to intervene. _Hyōka, just because you're mad at something, doesn't mean you should take it out on us. _

_I'm not mad._

He raised an eyebrow.

_I just don't see why everyone has to keep on reminding me about my age._

_Or lack thereof._ Hyourinmaru quipped.

I shot him a dirty look and he flicked the side of my head with the tip of his tail.

_Oh that's it. I'm going to skin you and sell your hide, dragon!_

_I'd like to see you try, hatchling. _

I leapt at him. I heard Toushiro sigh forcefully and the next thing I knew a hand was yanking the back on my shirt.

_Hyōka, sit down! And Hyourinmaru stop batting him. You two need to calm down. Geez, sometimes I feel like _I'm _the oldest one here. _

I plopped down into the snow and Hyourinmaru curled up like a cat next to me. Toushiro was scary when he was angry. He glared us down like a drill master.

_Now Hyōka, what's the matter, you're not usually this irritable. _

_They told me I couldn't fight. That I'm too young. _

He sighed and rubbed his temples. _I knew this was going to happen. _

_They just want to protect you, hatchling. _ Hyourinmaru offered. _They care about you and don't want to see you get hurt. _

_I can hold my own weight in battle. They know this, they've seen me fight. I don't need protection. _ I growled.

Toushiro sat down next to me. _So does this mean that you're actually going to obey orders for once? _

_As if. I'm going to join the battle regardless of what they say. _

_Then why are you complaining? _

_Because it's frustrating! All of them treat me like I'm some four-year- old who can barely walk. I don't know how many times I have to prove that I'm not weak for them to understand. I mean come on, according to Urahara I have captain class reiatsu, plus, I wield Hyourinmaru, the strongest ice type zanpakuto ever. Yet, it's still," _I lowered my voice to imitate Teito,_ "Hyōka clean your room, Hyōka you can't watch that on television, Hyōka do your homework, don't do this, don't do that, eat your vegetables!"_

Toushiro snickered, _If you had just eaten the cauliflower..._

_That's not the point. I'm not a child, so they need to stop treating me like one. And I'll eat the vegetables if I want to. _I huffed, folding my arms across my chest.

Hyourinmaru chuckled causing the ground to vibrate. _Yet, you are sulking like a spoiled brat. _

_Hyourinmaru... _Toushiro admonished.

_ What? This argument is pointless._ He said changing the subject in a heartbeat. _ Could any child kick as much ass as he can? I don't think so. In the battle do your best, try your hardest and earn the title of adult. Such things don't come easy, hatchling, they aren't going to treat you any older just because you decide to use big words and swing around a zanpakuto. You need to prove it. _

I cocked my head, _So, I'm still 'hatchling' to you?_

He nodded. _Yep, you two will always be hatchling and little one._

Toushiro rolled his eyes. _I thought I graduated from that name..._

_But you're still little. _

_I'm not! _he yelled curling his hands into fists.

Hyourinmaru had hit a nerve? I began to laugh. Finally, I had discovered it. Cool, calm, and always collected Toushiro had a weak spot. Who would have guessed it would be his height?

_And you stop laughing. _He suddenly turned on me.

_Face it Toushiro, you're short. _I said, still giggling a bit.

_I'm taller than you. _He growled.

_And I'm short._

He seethed silently as Hyourinmaru and I eyed each other in amusement. The dragon and I had a strange relationship in the sense that we both loved to irritate Toushiro. He had the most entertaining reactions.

_You're not going to let him get over this are you? _Hyourinmaru asked.

I shook my head. _I finally have one on him, there's no way I'm gonna let this die. _

_You know I can hear you two? _Toushiro growled.

_Oh, so our voices can reach you all the way down there? I smirked._

He clenched his jaw. _I'm not going to let you get to me. _I _for one am more _mature _than this. _

_Sure thing, shorty._

He closed his eyes then turned around giving Hyourinmaru and me his back.

_Ah, come on don't get upset, _Hyourinmaru pleaded, _Can't you take a joke, little one?_

Toushiro turned back around. His eye brow was twitching and he was nearly shaking in anger. I thought he looked like a rabid dog. His yell was so loud I don't think it would have surprised me if he made me go deaf... from inside my head.

_I AM NOT LITTLE!_

* * *

**Sigh, I'm a bad person for torturing a 12 year old and feeling so proud of it... my inner sadist is showing :/ **

**But anyway, after all of that Ichigo is here! Yay! **

**To all you curious people, I will be explaining what Hyoka and Toushiro are in a few chapters so please bear with me a little while longer and I think it will be worth the wait. (I hope it will be worth the wait) **

**And OMG don't you love that my use of comas is getting better!? And it's all thanks to my super-awesome beta; AmunRa :) **

**So, please review, I'd love to get some feedback. **

**-Mymomomo**


	25. Chapter 25

**Hi again, **

**And I dont' have much to say in the starting note except a huge thanks to everyone who reviewed and hope you enjoy the chapter :)**

* * *

I must have only been out for a few minutes because I still felt Ichigo's reiatsu and I was still lying in the same place on the floor. The pain in my body had somewhat subsided, though it still felt like my blood was molten lava flowing sluggishly in my veins. I choked back a few pained moans and took a couple of deep breaths to try to clear my head a bit.

The room was pitch black; the darkness was occasionally punctuated by flashes or orange and yellow light that I assumed from all the 'medical' equipment around the room. My stomach bubbled slightly; the room itself was scaring me. I needed to get out of here and Ichigo was taking a bit too long to come barging in.

_He's fighting, _Toushiro supplied, _can't you feel the fluctuations in his reiatsu._

I blinked and concentrated. Sure enough there were dips and rises in the strength of his reiatsu. I let out a breathy puff of air; his fighting reiatsu signature felt almost like a dance. I could just picture him spinning this way and that, striking at his opponent with controlled swipes and jabs. I could practically hear the almost musical rhythm of his footsteps. It was a soft staccato with a few longer swipes scattered about.

_That's kinda cool. _ I whispered in amazement.

_It is. He's improved a lot from what I remember. Anyway, he's winning. _

True enough, I could feel the weaker reiatsu signature from the Arrancar fading away slowly. However, I could feel another Arrancar swoop in to take its place. He definitely had his hands full out there. The least I could do was try to make his job a little easier.

_What are you going to do? _Toushiro asked in interest.

_The same thing I've been trying to do: get out of here. _

_Don't strain yourself. _

I attempted to pick myself up from the floor. It was easier said than done. My limbs were trembling so badly I could barely hold myself up. Not to mention that every movement caused my muscles to feel like they were being torn apart. I clenched my jaw against the pain, and I think I might have bitten my tongue because I tasted blood in my mouth. I pushed through it, using the table I had originally been lying on to pull myself to my feet. I was breathing like I had run a marathon by the time I made it upright. I leaned against the table in exhaustion and waited until the fresh waves of pain washed over. Every inch of me was still throbbing and stinging. I felt tiny tears form at the corners of my eyes and I blinked them away.

_Ignore the pain. It'll be over soon. _Toushiro offered in encouragement.

I nodded and counted slowly to ten before I pushed off from the table and shuffled to where I thought the door was. Each step was like walking on hot coals and knives. I swallowed and tightened my jaw. Every step sent bursts of fire up my legs, where they spread out to the rest of my body. By the fifth step I was whimpering in pain. My breathing was shaky and shallow and I felt my will fading as the pain increased.

_Be strong, Hyōka, _Toushiro said. I could feel Hyourinmaru hum in agreement.

I nodded again and wiped the tears from my eyes. He was right; I had to be strong. I put one foot in front of the other, steeling myself against every jolt of pain. After what felt like eternity I collapsed against a wall. Sweat dripped down my face, back, and arms and my legs were throbbing with the magnitude of a thunder storm. I slumped against the wall, placing my forehead on the cool metal. I could feel my heartbeat in my ears and my chest felt like it was seizing up. I gasped for air despite the fact that fire pulsated through my abdomen as well.

_Well done, _Toushiro praised, still trying to motivate me through this. _Five minutes, and then we'll work on getting through the door and finding Ichigo. _

I nodded, too tried to do anything else. All I wanted to do was sleep, sleep until all the pain was gone and I didn't feel like dying.

_No, you have to stay awake._

_I know, _I muttered, taking a shuddering breath.

Whatever Toushiro was about to say was cut off by a loud clicking noise from the door. I blinked at it. Had it just been unlocked?

_What is Aizen playing at?_ I wondered. He wouldn't lock me up to think about submitting to him then just unlock the door for me to escape.

_I don't think that was Aizen. My guess is that Ichigo has got someone into the control room, _Toushiro supplied.

I nodded and pushed open the door. It made sense; Ichigo wouldn't have come here alone

_Your five minutes aren't up yet._

_Doesn't matter, I need to get through this now. _I didn't think I would be able to move again if I let myself rest for any longer. Plus, the sooner I made it to Ichigo the better.

I stumbled through the doorway, gasping again at the sudden increase in pain as I stepped out into a narrow corridor. This walk was even worse than the last. The sudden change in light caused me to feel nauseated and my head to throb. I swallowed down the rising bile and rested my hand against the outside wall for support. All I could concentrate on was putting one foot in front of the other. I tried with all my power to block out the pain, but it was no use; a few more steps brought me to tears. I was panting like a dog; my shaky breath echoed along the hallway.

_Hyōka, stop now, _Toushiro instructed.

_Need... t-to...get... I-Ichigo, _I muttered breathlessly.

_You're going to hurt yourself even further. Rest for a while and then we'll start back. _

_I'll... g-g- get c-c-caught..._

_I'll keep watch. _

I nodded and my legs gave out. I went crashing to the ground for the second time in less than an hour. The impact jarred me to my bones and I let out a sharp hiss. I listened to myself as my breathing slowed slightly. It hurt to take deep breaths so I had to take quick, shallow ones. I really did sound like I was dying. God, everything hurt so much. I closed my eyes; not that it made much of a difference since everything was blurry and I couldn't focus anyway. I may as well have kept my eyes close from the start.

I had been lying there for around five minutes. I was counting seconds so I wouldn't have to concentrate on the pain coursing through my body. My concentration was broken, though, when I heard quick footsteps, like someone was running down the hallway.

I swore, but as soon as the word left my lips I felt a quick breeze and a familiar pressure swoop past me. The footsteps skidded to a halt and I heard the person backpedal.

"Hyōka?"

I cracked open my eyes and saw a blob of orange and black. "Ichigo?"

"What the hell did he do to you?" his voice was just above a whisper.

My energy was spent. I couldn't even answer him. I just let out a relieved sigh and let my eyes close again. I felt him stoop down next to me and scoop me into his arms. I tried not to whimper as the movements jarred my muscles.

Ichigo cradled me against his chest and gently rubbed my back. "Hey, it's going to be okay. We're getting you out of this place. Just stand it for a little bit longer. Can you do that?"

I nodded slowly and clenched my jaw. Just a little bit longer and all of this would be over. I had gone through all this and I was sure as hell not going to give up now.

"Good."

I think he took off in a _shunpo _because we suddenly lurched forward and then just as suddenly came to a stop. This process repeated itself for a while and I tried my absolute best to keep quiet each time I was swung into Ichigo's chest. The light bumps felt like I was being thrown into a wall, repeatedly. I chewed my bottom lip.

"Almost there, just need to signal the others,"

His reiatsu flared, forcing the air from my lungs. I had thought he felt powerful before, but what I had felt from Aizen's torture chamber was only a fraction of what I felt now. I could almost feel the air around us shaking.

_He definitely has improved. _Toushiro noted in wonderment.

When he pulled it back in I noticed that I was breathing just a little bit faster and it was suddenly much harder to stay awake. Ichigo began to rub my back again.

"Now this is going to be the hardest part, just hold on," he muttered more to himself than me.

The crunching of feet on sand told me that someone else had arrived. I couldn't even feel their reiatsu at this point. Toushiro was worn out as well; neither of us had noticed that we were outside until now.

"Ichigo, did you find him?"

"Yeah. We need to get out of here now; I can feel like a thousand Arrancar coming this way. Where are Yoruichi and the others?"

"We're right here Ichigo. You ready?"

"I've been waiting on you!"

"Okay, let's go."

Ichigo jumped, I think. Wind whipped past my body and his hold on me tightened slightly. Did he just jump into mid air? Curiosity got the better of me and I just _had_ to open my eyes. I glanced over Ichigo's shoulder. He was running along a steep ridge bordered by thin silver and black trees and white stones. He must have jumped onto the ridge. Everything was still blurry but I was able to make out a figure... no three, wait. I blinked trying to focus; there were five Arrancar tailing us. I gasped; of course Aizen wouldn't let me go that easily.

"Ichigo," I murmured. It hurt to talk; my throat felt like it was going to tear apart. "Behind you."

"I know," he answered, "We're going to try to out run them. You just hang in there. "

Despite the fact that we were running for our lives I slumped against Ichigo's chest. My brain decided that it had enough of making sense of everything. I wouldn't have been of much use to them anyway, since I could barely lift my little finger without yelping in pain. I was pretty much baggage right about now.

"Ichigo, you go ahead. We'll take care of these guys."

Ichigo's chest vibrated against my cheek as he spoke. "You sure?"

"Our priority right now is to get Hyōka out of here. Now go."

"Just be careful."

He sped up and I was jostled around a bit more. This time I couldn't stop from crying out. All that happened next was pretty much a huge blur. I heard Ichigo swear and he shifted me to one arm while using the other to pull out his sword, I assume. I heard metal clash against metal but it was all from a distance. Pain flared up in my body from all the jarring movements. Ichigo was holding me too tightly against his side and I felt like I was going to explode from the pressure. The arm that was digging into my stomach felt like it was trying to gouge out my insides. Then all of a sudden I was ripped from him and went crashing into something very hard. I think I might have broken my spine, it hurt that much. I actually froze in shock as white-hot pain radiated from my back and coursed through my veins once again. I let out a strangled yell and my eyes flew open. Colours swam in my vision. I couldn't even tell what was up or what was down. It was only seconds before I was sucked into a vacuum of nothingness. Though, I heard Ichigo shouting my name before I passed out.

...

My eyes fluttered open to bright light streaming right into my face. I shaded my face with my hand and groaned. Seriously, would it kill them to put up some blinds – Oh my god, I was home. I jolted upright while a loud gasp tore at my throat. Well, I wasn't home per say, but I was out of Aizen's hellhole. Actually come to think of it, where was I? I didn't recognise this room.

_Looks like one of Urahara's spare rooms, _Toushiro observed tiredly, just waking up as well.

_You've been here before?_

_Unfortunately, yes. _

I stretched, noticing that all the pain, except for a dull ache in my lower back, was gone. My limbs still felt stiff, though. I was about to stand up from the futon when the door slid open and a frantic ginger-haired man tumbled into the room. I glanced at him with a raised eyebrow

"Don't you dare!" he yelled, forcing me back down. "If you get off this bed I will kill you."

I stared up at him, stunned. It felt like I hadn't seen him in years. Before I even realised what I was doing I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face in the front of his shirt. When had I gotten so sentimental? I guess this is what being kidnapped does to a person. Ichigo seemed shocked by my hug but he returned it after a short while.

"Ichigo, thank you. Thank you so much." I muttered, feeling my throat constrict and tears begin to form in my eyes.

"Don't thank me..." he said softly.

"I... I thought I was never going to see anyone ever again."

"Hey," he released me and held me at arm's length. "Don't cry. You're back and that's all that matters now."

I nodded and roughly wiped my eyes.

"Is he awake – Hyōka!"

I turned to the door so fast I almost gave myself whiplash. "Mikami, Teito!"

My siblings stood at the door. Mikami rushed to my side and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. I felt a new set of tears form and fall down my face.

"You're back," Mikami's voice trembled. I looked up to see her crying as well. "When will we ever get a moment's peace with you? We were worried sick."

I apologised over and over again until a large hand was placed on my shoulder.

"It wasn't you fault, Koko-chan," Teito said as he gently squeezed my shoulder. "All that matters is that you're back now."

I glanced up at him. He was smiling back with a mixture of relief, joy and sorrow on his face. I unwrapped one arm from around Mikami and took his hand in mine. I had almost forgotten how much bigger he was than me. Teito's smile widened and his eyes grew moist. The next thing I knew he had both Mikami and me in a tight hug.

"Don't you ever get yourself kidnapped again," he warned.

"I don't plan to." I smiled through my tears.

The three of us really had been through a lot; our parent's death, having to move, every other trial in between and now this. They were my pillars of strength; honestly, they were what kept me afloat through all this turmoil. The amount they had sacrificed for me was unfathomable, and all just because I was their little brother. I loved them more than I loved myself even. To think that I would never have seen either of them again...

We didn't say much to each other; we sat there hugging and crying for the better part of the day. I was just so relieved to see them, to feel them, to be with them once again that I didn't care how foolish we looked. My eyes were almost swollen shut, Mikami's face was red and blotchy, and Teito's eyes were pink by the time we were finished. I was curled up against Mikami's chest as we both lay on our sides on the futon with Teito wrapped around both of us. I fell asleep with a smile on my face that night; it was the first time in ages where I had ever felt so at peace.

...

Ichigo handed me a bowl of oatmeal and sat down next to me to make sure I ate it. Mikami and Teito had gone to work earlier that morning. The bandages that were peeking out from the collar of Ichigo's shirt and around his head told me why he wasn't at the clinic.

"So, how're you feeling today?"

I shrugged, "Okay, I guess. I'm still a little sore."

He nodded and I took a spoonful of oatmeal, wincing at the overly sweet cinnamon taste.

"Why aren't you eating?" I asked at length.

"Can't," he sighed, "I'm on a liquid diet. Tessai's orders."

My eyebrows rose in shock. He just raised a hand and drew a line along his torso starting from his left collarbone and ending at his navel. I assumed he was showing me where he was injured. My jaw dropped.

"I think _you're _the one who shouldn't be out of bed."

He just shrugged again, "I've had worse."

My eyebrows rose again. "You're insane, Ichigo."

He grinned and leaned back on his arms and we soon lapsed into a comfortable silence. I was only about halfway through my breakfast when there was a soft knock on the door.

"Yeah, come in." Ichigo called out.

The door opened to reveal Rukia and Renji. They both sauntered in and sat down on either side of Ichigo.

"Kuchiki, Abarai," I greeted.

"Hey, kid, good to see you're conscious. You had everyone worried for a while." Renji chortled.

I frowned slightly and eyed the three of them. "How long was I out for?"

"... Five days." Ichigo said at length, scratching the back of his neck.

"What!" I exclaimed, almost jumping out of bed.

"Relax, Hyōka," Rukia said smoothly, while at the same time punching Renji in the gut. "You were tired; your body needed to rest, is all."

Renji doubled over holding his stomach. "What was that for?" he wheezed.

She rolled her eyes, "For being an idiot."

I couldn't help but snicker.

"But I didn't do anything!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, be quiet."

Ichigo clicked his tongue in annoyance. "What are you two doing here anyway? Weren't you supposed to go back to the Soul Society?"

They instantly became serious. "We need to talk about that," Renji said, "The Head-captain sent me back to talk to you and Kisuke."

Ichigo frowned. "About what?"

"I really don't want to explain it twice, and you have to promise me not to get angry. He wants to see Hyōka."

"Why?" I butt in.

"We'll explain that later when everyone's here," Rukia sighed. "Ichigo, we think there's going to be another war."

Ichigo closed his eyes briefly and rubbed his temples. "I'll go get Kisuke. We'll meet back in two hours," he turned to me. "And you, if you leave this futon, I'm going to glue you to the bed when I find you."

I rolled my eyes and deemed myself well enough to go to the bathroom as soon as he left. Without the standing sentinel by my bedside I could finally get up and stretch my stiff arms and legs; I still felt a tiny twinge of pain every time I took a step, though. I shuffled to the bathroom; Toushiro guided me to it. I pushed open the door – it took slightly more effort than usual – and froze in pure and utter shock. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped for what seemed the millionth time that day. I soundlessly moved towards the mirror like I was in a daze and leaned over the sink. Even Toushiro was speechless; I could see him gaping unbelievingly in my mind's eye. I ever so slowly raised a shaky hand to my face while observing sunken in cheeks and deep purple bags. My skin was dry and scaly and in some areas red and blotchy like a rash had risen up or something, but I wasn't shocked by any of this. What had caught my attention was my hair; it was gone. It looked as though it had been shaved off in clumps; some patches were longer than the others. What made it even worse was that since my hair was so light it was practically invisible now that it was so short. I ran my hand through the fuzz that now covered my head in disbelief and bristled inwardly. If he had shaven me bald, at least he could have had the decency to make it even. Together with my pallid face and hollowed out cheeks I looked like a cancer patient.

"What the hell?!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. I felt just a little bit freaked out as I watched the frail looking boy in the mirror do the same.

Toushiro sighed heavily, _it'll grow back, stop making such a big deal._

_It is a big deal! Why did he have to cut it? _

_I don't know, maybe it had something to do with the fact that he was shooting electrical currents through your skull. I prefer him shaving your hair than catching your head on fire._

_Oh, don't you advocate for him; he's an evil bastard. _

_I know._

_So stop poking holes in my argument._

_I'm not. I'm just trying to see the reason behind this._

_There's no reason. He's an asshole._

Toushiro rolled his eyes and I felt rather than heard Hyourinmaru chuckle softly in the background.

_Well, that's one way of putting it. Yes, Hyōka, he is an asshole. _

I almost chuckled despite myself but another glance in the mirror reminded me about all that I had gone through at Aizen's hands. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach and had to hold on to the edge of the sink to keep myself upright. I grit my teeth in anger but I was brought back to the present when the door swung open and banged forcefully against the wall. I could see a few bits of plaster fall to the floor; the doorknob must have made a hole in the wall behind it.

"What did I just tell you? I haven't even been gone for five minutes yet."

An un-amused Ichigo stormed into the room. His arms were folded across his chest and he glared at me with one eyebrow raised. I hung my head sheepishly, now aware that I could feel every little breeze on my scalp. Ichigo huffed and I could practically feel his anger dissipate.

"It'll grow back, don't worry about it."

He placed a hand on my shoulder and guided me back to the room. "You really shouldn't be up yet. I know you may feel okay, but you shouldn't put your body under any pressure after what happened."

I looked up at him and everything suddenly clunked into place. His eyes were sad, guilty even. That was why he was acting strange – well at least more subdued and less jokey – he thought that everything was his fault, once again. I would have to talk to him. The idiot shouldn't go around blaming himself like this. It couldn't possibly be healthy.

...

I was seated around Kisuke's by now familiar round table. I tapped my fingers impatiently on the wooden surface waiting for everyone else to start. Ichigo was sitting next to me hunched over the table and staring intently at a steaming cup of coffee. Rukia and Renji were also seated and quietly arguing among themselves. Kisuke somehow managed to stare at every one of us from behind his fan.

Mikami and Teito sat on my other side, both tense. I'm not sure what they had been told but neither one of them looked thrilled to be here. Isshin was also there, oddly. But his presence did make sense; if Ichigo was involved in this _Shinigami_ business his father would be as well. Tessai sat wordlessly in the corner as per usual; I think I had only ever heard him speak twice.

Then there were four people who I had never seen before. One was a tall, skinny man with bright red hair and a scowl on his face. Sitting next to him was a meek looking woman with slightly flushed cheeks and long, black hair with a single lock splitting her face in half. Then there was another man with square glasses and black hair that looked pissed off with life – and Ichigo. The final occupant of the room lay on her side with her head propped up on her knuckles. She had chocolate brown skin, piercing gold eyes, and purple hair tied up in a ponytail. She winked at me when she caught me looking her way.

It took Kisuke a few more minutes before he snapped his fan shut and placed it down on the table with a loud clack. "Alright, I think we can start now. Everyone's here, right?" he received short nods from almost everyone in the room. "Are there any questions before we begin?"

"Yes," The man with the glasses spoke up, turning to glare at me. "Who is he?"

"This, Uryu, is Takemitsu Hyōka, the reincarnation of Hitsugaya Toushiro." Kisuke supplied with a smirk.

"So he's the reason why we're all here, I assume."

I decided instantly that I didn't like this man. The way he was looking down at me somehow rubbed me the wrong way. Plus, he had been staring at Mikami with a little too much interest for my liking.

"Yes, and now I believe a few introductions are in order. This is the Takemitsu family, Teito, Mikami, and Hyōka. I believe that you three already know most of these people, but this is Ishida Uryu, my associates Hanakari Jinta, Tsumugiya Ururu and Shihoin Yoruichi." he pointed to each of them in turn, "But you can get to know each other later; we have some pressing matters to discuss first. Rukia, Renji?"

Rukia took a deep breath, and Renji's face took on a grim expression.

"In light of Aizen's recent actions," Renji started, "Head-captain Yamamoto has decided that war is the best course of action."

"What are Aizen's recent actions?" Uryu asked, "Since no one thought to inform me about what has been going on until now, I have no idea what any of you are talking about."

"We need to go all the way back to the beginning for this," Kisuke sighed. "Let Captain Abarai," he suddenly burst out laughing, "I'm sorry that just feels so funny in my mouth."

Renji grit his teeth in annoyance, "Anyway, Rukia and I were sent to inform you that we have three months to prepare, if Aizen doesn't attack first. And," he paused to look at Ichigo, "all Shinigami, including substitutes and potential soldiers are to report to The Seireitei for further instructions."

There was a heavy silence.

"There's more, isn't there?" Isshin asked grimly.

Renji nodded and sighed, but Rukia took over, "Yes, but this has to do with Hyōka."

I raised my eyebrows. They had said earlier that this head-captain person wanted to see me.

"What about him?" Mikami blurted out.

Rukia wearily eyed my brother and sister. "He wants Hyōka to report to The Seireitei as well,"

Mikami narrowed her eyes, "But Renji just said that only Shinigami and potential soldiers were to report there. He couldn't possibly mean for Hyōka to be lumped together with actual warriors."

"I don't agree with this either, but from the head-captain's point of view Hyōka is the reincarnation of a deceased Shinigami captain; it's his duty.

"His duty?" Teito suddenly exploded, "He's twelve!"

"Thirteen actually," Kisuke cut in, "We missed his birthday. And before we get too heated about this, I think we should answer Uryu's question. I'm afraid the more I learn about your brother the more complicated things get."

"What do you mean?" Mikami asked uneasily.

"Like I said before, we need to start from the beginning, and by that I mean Captain Hitsugaya's death."

* * *

**I know, I know there should have been a lot more action but for some reason I couldn't write it for this chapter. Hyoka was kind of out of it so I guess writing any sort of action-y sequence from his POV would have been kinda weird... for me at least. **

**Again thanks to my beta (I might just be beginning to understand commas now) **

**But I can promise you that Hyoka's going to get kinda cool pretty soon... guesses anyone? **

**And of course the long awaited explanation is coming next. I just hope I can make it make sense. In the words of Homer Simpson It sounds good in my brain, but my tongue makes not the words sound very good... ****but meh, we'll see. **

**Anyway, tell me what you thought about it :)**

**-Mymomomo**


	26. Chapter 26

**Explanation time! **

**I'm sure many of you have been waiting for this for a pretty long time. If you're expecting an awesome, mind-blowing, detailed blow-by-blow account of what happened, then let me apologise now. I'm not good at explaining things - I tired but the most I could do is turn the somewhat coherent thoughts in my mind into... well this.**

**And guess what! I got my first fan art for this story! I'm so excited I want to share it with the whole world xD. It was done by Kuroneko Hikage (Thank you so much) and the link is on my profile. Please check it out she worked really hard on it. **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and hope you enjoy this one as well :) **

* * *

"Like I said before, we need to start from the beginning, and by that I mean Captain Hitsugaya's death," Kisuke said sullenly, causing the room to suddenly take on a grim atmosphere.

Toushiro took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second. I could feel apprehension bubble over from him. Hearing that must not have been easy for him.

_Hey,_ I asked gently. _You gonna be okay?_

He nodded slowly. _Yes, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me._

_I smell bullshit. _

He grimaced. _Please, Hyōka, I'm a warrior and a Shinigami captain, I can handle this. _

I sighed. _Okay, but if it gets too hard we can always leave-_

_No. We both need to hear what is going on. You are not to leave this room no matter what. Got it? _

_... Yeah. _

I rolled my eyes at his stubbornness and turned my attention back to Kisuke. He was staring at me like he was waiting for my approval to continue. I gave a short nod, bidding him to go on.

"We all know that Captain Hitsugaya died in the Winter War thirteen years ago," Kisuke went on, his voice oddly serious. "But what is really important are the conditions under which he died. Aizen had the _hogyoku_ in his possession-"

"The what?" Teito interrupted.

"The _hogyoku_," I provided, and then proceeded to explain what it was to him. When I finished, everyone was staring at me like I sprouted a second head.

"What?"

"How do you know that?" Rukia asked.

"I-"

"He can explain that later," Uryu cut me off, "We're pressed for time here and I would like to know what's going on so we can decide our next course of action as soon as possible."

I scowled at him; he was giving me even more reasons not to like him.

"Of course," Kisuke said with a flourish, "Aizen had the _hogyoku_ with him in battle; this part's important, remember that. Now, Hitsugaya was distraught over the fact that Aizen had tricked him into stabbing his childhood friend Hinamori Momo,"

I felt a sudden pang in my gut. Toushiro had his jaw clenched tightly and Hyourinmaru was wrapped tightly around him as if trying to shield him from what Kisuke was saying.

The blond man continued, "He rushed at Aizen without a second thought and was stabbed through the chest, only a few millimeters away from his heart. However that was not what killed him, the autopsy showed that he didn't die from Aizen's wound. It was the fall to the ground that killed him – which is more than likely the reason why you're afraid of heights, Hyōka-kun, but I digress. When Aizen stabbed him, somehow Hitsugaya came into contact with the _hogyoku_ as well. Then this is where things start to get confusing. What I believe happened is that Hitsugaya was granted his deepest desire at the time, which would have been not to die."

"Except he did die..." Renji deadpanned.

"In essence, yes, but there's more to it than that. Even the _hogyoku_ doesn't have the power to stop death. So, what I believe happened was that during the reincarnation process the 'soul wipe' didn't go all the way through. Usually a soul is wiped clean to start a new life, but Hitsugaya's wasn't. This is why he and Hyōka-kun are so similar."

"Similar is an understatement," Renji scoffed. "They are the same person. What you're trying to say is basically that Hitsugaya got to press the restart button?"

"No, Hyōka-kun and Hitsugaya are two different people. I'm sure even you can tell that by his _reiatsu_. They are exceedingly similar, yes, but Hyōka-kun's has more of a kick to it."

"Now I'm confused," Teito sighed rubbing his head. "I get that Koko-chan is Hitsugaya's reincarnation, but then if the two of them aren't the same person, then where is Hitsugaya, and how do we know that he even was reincarnated as my brother?"

Kisuke took a deep breath. "They aren't the same person, but at the same time they are."

"Okay, I'm even more lost now."

"They share a soul."

"So, Hyōka's not real? He's just a shell?" Uryu asked as he pushed his glasses further up his nose.

Why that insolent prick, "What do you mean I'm not real! I'm sitting right in front of you, aren't I? Or do you need a stronger prescription?"

"Hyōka," Mikami pulled me back down. I hadn't even realised that I had stood up. "Don't be rude; I'm sure he didn't mean it like that."

I grumbled and folded my arms across my chest. "Bastard," I muttered under my breath. Why the hell was Mikami vouching for him anyway?

Kisuke began to chuckle quietly. "Well, to put it into context, I guess you could say that Hyōka-kun and Hitsugaya are like conjoined twins; two different people but still 'one' person."

I blinked and instantly pictured Toushiro and I joined together. I groaned in disgust and tried to shut down the idea before it got too detailed. The fact that he lived inside my head was disturbing enough. I did not need to imagine us literally joined together.

"So, I'm just trying to put the pieces together. The _hogyoku_ enabled Hitsugaya to retain his consciousness even though he was reincarnated," Uryu summarised.

"Yes, this is why Hyōka can recall Hitsugaya's life in the Seireitei and why their reiatsu is almost the same," Kisuke finished with a grin.

"Oh," I muttered. That was why Aizen had said that Toushiro never died. He was still alive in my head, yes, but now I knew how. That still didn't explain the hollow bit though. However, I wasn't about to reveal that part just yet. Until I knew how they reacted to _Visoreds_ I would keep Toushiro's state a secret. They would treat him like an _Arrancar _for all I knew, and that meant killing him.

_You have to tell someone eventually. I don't know how to deal with my situation any better than you do. _

_I will, just not now. And especially not in front of all of these people._

_Who then? Kisuke might be uncanny, but at least he's knowledgeable in many areas. He could help us. _

_I've never heard him mention Visoreds._

_That doesn't mean he doesn't know anything._

_Yes, but now isn't the time to bring that up. 'Oh, by the way I'm part hollow because not only did the Hogyoku save Toushiro from dying but also turned him into hollow before he died and was implanted into my soul.' Yeah, that would go down well. _

Toushiro rolled his eyes._ You better not keep this to yourself. For once Hyōka, you need to ask for help._

_I know, but I'm not doing it now. _

"What was that Hyōka-kun?" Kisuke asked turning my attention back to them before Toushiro and I could start to argue. With his stubbornness and my obstinacy we probably could have gone on like that for days.

I had to pause to remember what I was thinking about before Toushiro butted in. He snarled at that thought. Right, his explanation on why Toushiro and I were as we were. "That would explain a lot."

"A lot like what?"

"Well," I paused and look around. "This is going to sound like I'm crazy. But what you say kinda makes sense. Toushiro... well, Toushiro lives in my head. I can hear him speak, he can see my memories and I can see his, and he can take control over my body if he wants. The conjoined twins analogy was actually pretty accurate, except the whole conjoined thing; that part was creepy."

"You really are an anomaly. There have been a few instances where something has gone wrong in the reincarnation process. The person was born with memories of their past life and grew up to be pretty much a clone of their predecessor. But here we have you who have somehow not only managed to retain Hitsugaya's memories but live alongside him. In theory, you two should be battling for control of your soul, but that's not the case. I will be researching more about this; Hyōka, I've never met a puzzle quite like you."

"Goddamnit Koko-chan, why do you have to be so complicated?" Teito exclaimed shaking his head.

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up, Teito."

"Now the next thing we need to discuss is this oncoming war," Uryu snapped.

I scowled at him again. This guy was even worse than Mikami when it came to joking around.

"Give them a minute, Ishida. It isn't easy to hear this kind of thing," Ichigo growled.

"Well I, unlike you Kurosaki, like to plan ahead."

"And you, unlike me, are a prick, so just chill for a second."

I laughed out loud as Uryu ground his teeth together and glared at Ichigo, who had taken on a nonchalant expression and drained the rest of his coffee. Rukia let out a rather large sigh and slowly shook her head.

"Those two will never change. But we really do need to figure out what we're going to do next. Aizen is not going to take this sitting down. We need to prepare."

"By doing what exactly?" Ichigo barked.

"You have to report to the _Seireitei_ and almost every person in this room should be training."

"What about us?" Mikami asked.

"You want to take part in this war?" Yoruichi spoke for the first time.

"To protect my little brother, yes."

"Then I suppose we could teach you a thing or two, huh Kisuke, but don't expect to be in the front lines. Your main priority will be to keep yourself safe."

Mikami glanced at Teito then nodded. "Of course."

"So, am I the only one who doesn't think it's weird that Aizen was dormant for twelve years then out of the blue declares war?" Uryu sighed. "Or did you people fail to tell me something?"

"He wants Hyōka-kun back," was Kisuke's simple reply.

"Back?"

"An anomaly such as Hyōka-kun would spark Aizen's interest. He managed to abduct him and we only just recently got him back."

Uryu turned to me with shock written upon his face. "Aizen kidnapped you? I thought this boy was just here because of the situation, but now I know he actually plays a part in this. What would Aizen want with a child?"

"He is the reincarnation of a very powerful _shinigami,_" Renji supplied.

"So, powerful _shinigami_ are reincarnated every other day and Aizen doesn't go after them all. I understand that Hyōka isn't a normal case, but this still seems fishy to me."

"And that is what I haven't figured out yet." Kisuke said with a nod. "Unless Aizen knows exactly what happened to Hitsugaya, he doesn't have any-"

"He does," I cut the storekeeper off. "He knows exactly what happened."

Everyone zeroed in on me like hawks diving in on a mouse.

"Care to explain?"

I took a deep breath. "He knows everything about Toushiro and me. He's been monitoring me since I was born and cultivating my powers." My voice shook; I did not want to recall what happened in that room.

"So does that mean that you have control over Hitsugaya's powers?" Renji asked.

I nodded.

"Hyōka, I want you to tell us exactly what Aizen told you." Kisuke's voice was sharp.

"He... he told me that he had been watching me ever since I was born and making it so that my powers would grow. He... set up different situations so that he could control my growth."

Ichigo exhaled forcefully. "That bastard, when will he stop playing with people like that?"

"So, he deemed your powers ready when he kidnapped you?" Kisuke asked.

"N-no he... he," I paused and took a shaky breath. "He e-ex... e-experimented."

"How?"

I wrapped my arms around myself; I could feel the burning, stinging pain flow through my veins again. I remembered every single time I was humiliated and ostracised from society. My mother's death flashed before my eyes once again.

"I – I ca-can't," I stuttered, closing my eyes.

Mikami wrapped an arm around my shoulders and Ichigo gently patted my head.

"Hmm, that's too bad. I would really like to know what he was trying to achieve with electroconvulsive therapy, it seems as if he was trying to literally get inside your head. The physical torture I can understand-"

"What?" Mikami gasped her voice a few octaves higher than normal, "What did that bastard do to my brother?"

I closed my eyes tightly and tried to block their voices out. I did not need to revisit that memory.

"When we brought him back there were signs that high voltage currents were run through his skull. Also, there was quite a bit of internal damage. I believe that Aizen injected an acid into his circulatory system, so all his organs and blood vessels were beginning to be corroded from the inside out. We healed most of the damage, of course, but little things like his hair and a few of the blood vessels deep inside his lungs will take a while to fully recover. Ah, at times like this I wish Orihime hadn't moved to Europe."

"I'll kill him," everyone turned to Mikami. "He's going to pay for doing that to Hyōka."

Everyone was stunned to silence for a minute. Mikami did not make empty threats.

"Great!" Kisuke clapped his hands together, "And we can help! Now we just have to decide what to do with Hyōka. I, personally, don't think that we should disregard Head-captain Yamamoto's orders, but at the same time I think we should prepare a bit before sending him to meet him."

I perked up at this.

"He's not going anywhere," Mikami spat. "First off, he's not even well and second, this man wants him to take up a warrior's position. It's out of the question."

"Before we decide anything, Mikami, you have to realise the potential your brother has. He's not a normal human being. Now that we know for sure that he is capable of unleashing his predecessor's powers I think our best option would be to train him. Even if we don't end up sending him to the _Seireitei_ I would like to see what he is capable of."

My eyes lit up. Finally, if I had known that all it would take for them to take me on was getting kidnapped, I would have done it ages ago. That was a lie, actually.

"Let's do it." I grinned, unable to hide my excitement.

Mikami glared at me. "No, you're too young. You have no business taking part in a war."

"Actually, Kisuke is right," I snapped my head to Uryu. Was he siding with me? "Each and every one of us should be preparing for when Aizen attacks next. And he will be attacking. Kurosaki stole his prize experiment and If I know Aizen, he may not follow us or leave _Hueco Mundo_, but he will be planning something to get Hyōka back, and maybe annihilate us all in one go. If Hyōka really is Captain Hitsugaya then we're going to need his help."

Mikami seemed to consider this for a while. I had to admit Uryu's argument was flawless; Mikami had been swayed, but that didn't mean I liked him.

"Fine. But if I think this is too hard on him, we're stopping. No questions asked."

I couldn't stop myself from grinning. Finally!

"Stop smiling," Ichigo said with a huff. "Training with these people, you don't know what you're getting yourself into."

...

It had been three days since I woke up, eight days since I was rescued from _Hueco Mundo_ and a whooping seven weeks and a day since I was kidnapped. When I had figured out that I had been trapped in Aizen's clutches for six weeks I nearly had a heart attack. Had I been that out of it that I hadn't noticed that much time had passed? No wonder I had lost so much weight. I sighed; I was basically a walking skeleton at this point. I must have lost, what, twenty pounds? I had been underweight before but now I was downright emaciated. Now, I was fed food portions that would have made me sick by looking at them and every hour Ichigo was basically forcing granola bars down my throat.

He wasn't the only one who was doting on me like a mother hen, though; Mikami was even worse. Whenever she dropped by Urahara's before _and_ after work she didn't even let me go to the bathroom by myself. Every single step I took she was holding my hands and basically lifting me up off the floor. When she spoke of giving me a sponge bath, though, I put my foot down. Thankfully, Teito agreed with me and told Mikami to stop babying me for once. I had never been more grateful for my brother than at that moment.

But then again, everyone was acting really weird. They snuck around the house, talked in whispers, and conversations were ended abruptly whenever I entered the room. I would have passed it off as them discussing battle tactics or whatever, but now that I was supposed to be included it didn't make sense. It got on my nerves, of course, but I couldn't bring myself to get angry at any of them. They had risked their lives to save me; I had no right to get mad. However, they failed to remember that I had a knack for finding out things that I shouldn't. I also had nothing else to do. My training was going to be held off until I had made a full recovery, or in Yoruichi's words, when my hands were steady enough to hold up a spoon. Nevertheless, in my defence that pot spoon was made of cast iron; only Teito could lift it up with ease.

I gave the large, black spoon in the sink a disdainful stare as I rinsed my cereal bowl and placed it to the side. Now I had the whole day ahead of me to do absolutely nothing. I shuffled to the doorway; my movements were still lethargic and jerky.

"So, Hyōka," Renji started uneasily as he stopped me before I left the kitchen. "Just out of the blue, what's your favourite type of cake?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Cake?"

"Yeah, cake."

"Why?"

"I'm just curious,"

I smirked inwardly. So, that's why everyone was acting so secretive. Planning a surprise birthday party, huh? That's sweet. I hope that they didn't go overboard though; I hated big parties.

"Chocolate," I said after a while. I didn't actually like cake, or sweet things for that matter, but I knew that chocolate was Teito's favourite and Ichigo liked it as well. Someone should enjoy it at least.

Renji nodded and scampered out of the room without another word. I hesitated for a moment then followed. If they wanted to throw me a surprise then they shouldn't have asked him to get information. He was as easy to read as a children's comic book.

"I found out his favourite type of cake," I heard Renji whisper to someone around the corner.

"Really," Mikami was here? I thought she left for work earlier. "He doesn't like cake. Wait, how did you find out?"

"I asked him..."

"You did what?"

"Umm... did I do something wrong?"

"He knows now. All our hard work of keeping this a secret, and now he knows."

"He can't have possibly figured it out from one question."

"... You don't know my brother."

I grinned and began to walk back to my room. No, Renji didn't know me well enough to know I could figure something like that out from one question. Besides, who randomly thinks about cake anyway?

...

Later that night I lay awake in bed. I was tired, both mentally and physically drained from all that was going on, yet I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes my mother's corpse flashed into my vision, I saw Aizen's evil grin as he loomed over me with an ominous looking syringe held in his hand, and my limbs jerked as ghost pain exploded through my body. After half an hour I realised that I wasn't going to get any sleep that night. It also didn't help that Ichigo was sulking right outside my room. His reiatsu rolled through the room in gloomy waves.

I grumbled as I rolled off the futon. _That idiot, none of this is his fault; why is he out there sulking like a little brat?_ I growled.

Toushiro sighed. _Go talk to him._

I made my way to the corridor right outside my room. Sure enough, Ichigo was curled up in the corner with his knees pulled up to his chest.

"Stop it, self pity doesn't suit you." I said as I walked up to the man.

He raised his head from his arms and stared at me with sad, brown eyes while making a scoffing noise at the back of his throat.

I sighed and leaned against the wall a few feet away from him. "What's the matter?"

He shook his head and turned away from me. I frowned; really, who was supposed to be the adult here? "It wasn't your fault, Ichigo."

"What?"

"What Aizen did to me, it wasn't you fault."

He stared at me and his scowl deepened. "I made you a promise, Hyōka. I said that I wasn't going to let him get to you and look what happened; exactly the opposite of what I said. I let him get to you, you were hurt, tortured for weeks, you could have died, and all because I couldn't handle a few more _Arrancar_ than usual that night."

He clenched his jaw so tightly that I could have sworn I heard one of his teeth crack. His hands balled the knees of his slacks and he let out a few forceful breaths.

I blinked, stunned. "Ichigo-"

"I failed you; I wasn't strong enough to protect you." He shut his eyes and placed his head between his knees.

I sighed. I was not good at comforting people and Ichigo was almost hysterical, in his own special way. I was right in thinking that he blamed himself for everything that happened. But what could I say to make him feel better? I turned to Toushiro for help. The boy was sitting next to Hyourinmaru softly stroking the small scales behind the fan-like ruffles that framed his face.

_Just tell him what you think he needs to hear. _

_What I think he needs to hear is, 'suck it up, buttercup; you're being a pansy'. Somehow I don't think that's going to help the situation. _

Toushiro rolled his eyes. _ Just do what Mikami does._

_You mean kiss him on the cheek and say everything's going to be alright? _

Toushiro huffed and stood up despite a soft growl of protest from Hyourinmaru. _I'll do it then. _

He drew the control over my body from me and slowly pushed off from the wall. He moved to stand in front of Ichigo until he was mere centimeters away. I was slightly perturbed that even when he was sitting down Ichigo's head came up to my waist.

"Oi, Kurosaki," Toushiro snapped, flicking him on the forehead. The orange-haired man looked up. "It's not your fault."

"But I promised you-"

"Listen, there was no way you could have stopped Aizen from coming that night, even with how much you've improved. I understand that Aizen sent _Arrancar _after you that night to stop you from getting to him. It's ridiculous and farfetched to think that you could take on all of them and still manage to fight Aizen as well."

"Because I'm not strong enough. They were small fry; I should have made easy work of them. And because of that I couldn't keep my promise."

"Your promise, huh? If I remember correctly, you promised that you would keep me safe. So what if there was a miscalculation, you rectified yourself, didn't you? I'm here right now and I'm still alive. You yourself told me, I'm back now and that's all that matters. You should take your own advice for once. Stop wallowing in the past, it's annoying."

He bowed his head. "I'm... I'm so sorry for letting this happen."

Toushiro clicked his tongue, but despite the irritated gesture, he wrapped my arms around Ichigo's neck and pulled him into my stomach. He ran a hand slowly through the orange strands. "Idiot, didn't you hear a word I just said? None of that matters to me; you tried to protect me and that's what counts."

"And failed miserably," his words were muffled against my shirt.

Toushiro rolled his eyes, "Would you prefer that I be mad at you?"

He heaved a heavy sigh and wrapped his arms around my waist. "No, I just wish this hadn't happened."

"We grow from our mistakes, Kurosaki. I think we're both stronger because of this."

We were silent for a while. A cool breeze blew in from an open window down the hall and a cloud moved from in front of the moon allowing slivery light to sweep into the hallway. Toushiro continued to run my hands through Ichigo's hair. He must have liked to stroke things, I thought back to him petting Hyourinmaru like a cat. After a minute or so Ichigo removed his arms from my waist and pulled me down so I was pretty much sitting in his lap. He pulled me back into his chest and wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

"Thanks, Toushiro," he whispered, "I needed that."

My eyes widened. "How did you know?"

He chuckled softly. "I'm not as stupid as everyone makes me out to be. Hyōka would have probably said something like 'suck it up you pansy' then run off."

"I would not!" I exclaimed as Toushiro sunk back into my mind laughing softly. "Don't pretend like you can predict my actions, Kurosaki."

"Plus, you're nowhere near as articulate as Toushiro; it's easy to tell."

I growled and slammed the back of my head into his face. His pained hiss caused me to smirk.

"You little brat!" he exclaimed. "That hurt."

"I don't appreciate you insulting my intelligence."

"Like you have intelligence to insult in the first place."

"Oh, that's rich coming from someone who has to use his fingers to count past five."

I could feel him glaring at the back of my head and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"You know, I really missed you, Ichigo. It must have been way too quiet here," I said, fingering a leather band around his wrist. I paused and looked down at it and felt a funny, warm feeling spread in my stomach. It was the bracelet I had given him for Christmas with the silver grim reaper charm. I didn't think he would actually wear it. "I hear it's hard to get along without me."

He sighed weakly. "Yeah, things here weren't the same. I finally got enough peace and quiet to hear myself think."

"Not funny."

"I thought it was hilarious."

"Then obviously your sense of humour is skewered."

* * *

**Well, how was it?**

**The next chapter should be a bit more exciting with a birthday party and the start of his training :) And Chou, Kazu and Adachi should be making appearances, they haven't been there in a while... **

**Oh, and before I forget, while you're on my profile checking out the wonderful art by Kuroneko Hikage, I made a poll, which is kinda detrimental to my writing career on :/ okay I exaggerate. But I have two ideas for a story and I can't choose between them. So, help me please and go vote!**

**-Mymomomo**


	27. Chapter 27

**So now that the little 'Kidnapped' arc has come to pass we're ready to move on to bigger and better things :) in my opinion at least. Training and Soul Society arc are coming up next!**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time around and if you haven't already, please check out the poll on my profile page. **

**So, here we go with chapter 27 :) **

* * *

"You want to what now?" I stared at my sister and quickly shuffled away from her grasp.

She rolled her eyes and grabbed me by the back of my shirt. "It's not going to hurt; just hold still."

"No. It's already all gone; why do you need to cut it even more?"

She sighed and glanced at the electric clippers in her hand. "Because it's uneven. You may not care, but I would have to be dead and gone before I let you go around looking like you have mange. Now sit down and let me fix it up."

I scowled at her. Now I was definitely going to look bald. The clippers made an unnerving buzzing noise and I watched what little hair I had fall in soft flurries to my lap.

"Why does it even matter? Urahara gave me a beanie to cover it, and it's not like I'm even allowed outside in this state."

"It matters to me, and you'll thank me when it starts growing out."

"Yeah sure," I huffed dejectedly.

The only noise in the room was the buzzing of the clippers. I tried to ignore it and reached over, trying not to move my head –not only would Mikami accidently decapitate me but kill me twice for making her do so – and grabbed Hyourinmaru from his place on my futon. Ichigo had given him back to me just minutes ago, saying how Yuzu had slaved over him for weeks on end. Her hard work had paid off, though; Hyourinmaru looked as good as new. I don't know how she did it, but her stitching was invisible. She had even fixed some of his old bruises and replaced his eyes with new, bright, red buttons that were not worn down with scratches. Heck, he didn't even look as washed out as before. I would have thought that he was a new dragon if it wasn't for a few telltale stains and the kink in his tail. I had missed him; maybe now I would be able to get a good night's sleep.

Toushiro chuckled softly in my mind. _Geez, you're still such a child._

I scowled at him.

_Well, you don't really need that thing now that you've got the real Hyourinmaru right here. _He patted the dragon, who was napping right next to him. A red eye was lazily cracked open and I could feel him giving the stuffed animal a once-over. The next thing I knew he had erupted in rumbling laughter – or what I assumed was laughter. The plain of ice was practically trembling because of him.

I turned my scowl to the dragon. _Shut it, you. It's not even that funny. _

Hyourinmaru snorted, releasing a puff of condensation from his nose and quieted. His eyes were still sparkling in mirth, though. I shook my head and then froze as I heard the clippers – which I had been so dutifully ignoring – stop suddenly. Mikami clicked her tongue and my eyes widened in horror. I brought my hands up to feel my head in concern. Nothing felt out of the ordinary – aside from the fact that I had no freaking hair – my scalp felt cool to the touch, it was a little sensitive, and the short bristles scratched my palm.

"Oh stop it," Mikami snapped, batting my hand away from my head. "I didn't ruin anything. I was done when you moved anyway."

I sighed in relief, but still wasn't too happy about the entire situation.

"Don't worry about it; your hair has always grown pretty fast. I'd say by the time summer rolls around, you'll have a full head of hair again," she said and shot me a small grin. I stuck my tongue out at her and she slapped me lightly on my shoulder in response. "I'll be back in a couple of hours. Don't forget to shower, okay?"

I rolled my eyes, "Really, Mikami; what am I, four?"

She just smiled, "I'll see you later."

I watched her leave then turned back to the two in my inner world.

_It's amusing how she thinks we don't know about the party,_ Toushiro noted.

_Why should I ruin it for them?_

He shrugged. _Anyway, shouldn't you be showering?_

_That's funny._

_And you have a toy stuffed dragon; it's no wonder why everyone sees you as a child._

I paused. _Well, I can't just give him away. He's been with me my whole life. He was the only friend I had when I was younger. _

_But now that you have the real one, there's no need for that toy._

I glanced at the stuffed dragon in my hands. There was no way I could just get rid of him like that. Technically, I really did not have any need for him now, but I was still reluctant to part with him. There was actually a point in my life that I refused to go anywhere without him. He had been like an extra limb for as long as I could remember.

_It feels wrong to just give him up like that... _ I said at length, but Toushiro was no longer paying attention to me. He was staring at Hyourinmaru with a slight frown on his face, like the two of them were conversing or something. That's when I realised that the dragon had been really quiet. Apart from his growls, hums and other dragon-like noises, he hadn't even said a word to me. I knew he could speak; Toushiro translated his thoughts to words on occasion, so there had to be some form of communication between them. But, why wasn't he talking to me?

_Hyourinmaru has an idea._ The white-haired boy said after a short while.

_Why doesn't he talk to me?_

Toushiro paused and raised an eyebrow. _You have yet to gain control over his powers, until then you won't be able to hear him._

_Why can you hear him then?_

_I've already mastered him; It's now your turn to do so. _

I looked at the dragon who was curled up in the snow like a giant... cat. I sighed, he may be great and very powerful, but I had a hard time imagining that he had to be 'mastered'. He was way too playful to be taken seriously sometimes. He curled up in balls, threw snow up in our faces, and begged for _belly rubs_ for god's sake. Toushiro was mystified at this as well, but then he said something about Hyourinmaru being my spirit now. I took that to mean that I wasn't as uptight as him, but I also think he was calling me childish.

_What does he want to do? _I asked, turning back to Toushiro.

_Just sit back and watch. _

I did as I was told and, before my very eyes, the stuffed dragon in my hands began to move. I didn't mean move as in those jerky, animated movements of electronic toys; I meant actually move; I could feel him breathing beneath my fingers. He stretched his arms, legs, tail, and wings as if he had just woken from a very long nap while I sat frozen and my hands went numb. The dragon wiggled out of my grasp and landed on the floor with a soft thump. He promptly shook himself off, stood up on all fours and began to walk around the room like a curious kitten.

_Well, this should be interesting, _Toushiro noted.

I kept one eye on the dragon and sent a questioning look Toushiro's way.

_Now you don't have to get rid of him,_ he stated simply.

It was then I noticed the sudden lack of dragon on the icy plain. _You mean Hyourinmaru is in... Hyourinmaru?_

Toushiro nodded. _When you said that the toy's name was Hyourinmaru he took that to mean your stuffed animal was his corporal body._

_What?_

_I just think it was an excuse for him to explore the outer-world. He's changed; he was never this curious before. _

_I'll say it again, what?_

Toushiro rolled his eyes. _Right here,_ he said as if he was talking to someone who was mentally challenged and patted the snow by his feet, _Hyourinmaru is a spirit. He moved his spirit from in here to your stupid toy. So, now that toy is actually Hyourinmaru. _

_He can do that?_ I asked, choosing to ignore his gibe.

_Obviously. Can't you feel the tiny drain in your reiatsu?_

I nodded. Sure enough I felt the slightest bit of fatigue.

_Plus, any _shinigami_ is able to materialise their – Hyourinmaru is going to fall and hurt himself!_

I snapped my head back to the dragon, who had somehow managed to climb up to the window sill, up the window frame and was now reaching for the ceiling fan.

"How the hell did you get up there?" I wondered out loud.

He looked down at me and cocked his head with what I'm sure was supposed to be a sheepish expression.

"Get down, before Toushiro has a cow."

_Excuse me, just what do you mean by that?_

Hyourinmaru shook his head and continued to reach for the slowly spinning fan blades. I sighed; I'm sure I would have done something like that when I was younger. Not the climbing part, the blatantly refusing orders and continuing what I was told not to do part.

"Hyourinmaru-"

"You talk to him now?" I was cut off by Teito entering the room and throwing himself gracelessly to the floor.

"Um, well... he... he won't listen to me!"

Teito raised an eyebrow. "What are you on about?"

I shook my head. As long as Teito didn't notice the dragon perched on the window frame it wasn't worth explaining.

"Anyway, what's up?" I asked. Teito was almost as easy to read as Renji. I could almost always tell what he was thinking and right now he was troubled by something. "You look a bit uneasy, what's going on?"

He sighed and rested his head on the futon. " I've been thinking about the war and everything that's happened lately: all the hollow and _arrancar_ attacks, all this _shinigami_ stuff, that there's this whole other world existing right under our noses and we don't even know, and you getting _kidnapped_. I can't believe that all of this is happening; just a few months ago we didn't even know any of this existed and now we're all caught up in it. It's all been like a dream, kinda," he paused and sat up so that he was facing me.

"But all of this has got me thinking that life is too short; at any moment we really can be killed just like that. And... I don't want to die knowing I could have done more with myself, you know? I don't want any regrets." I blinked; it was not very often that Teito dropped his jocular, happy-go-lucky persona and was serious.

"So, I've been thinking about this for a really long time now, and I made a decision a few days ago." he took a deep breath reached into his pocket and tossed a little, black, velvet box into my lap. I picked it up with a slight frown on my face and snapped it open. A delicate diamond ring sparkled innocently from a cushion of pure, white satin.

I looked up at Teito with a raised eyebrow. "I'm sorry, Teito, I don't think I can accept this. It wouldn't feel right." I couldn't hold back a snicker at the end. He growled and bopped me on the head.

"I'm trying to be serious here," he said with just a hint of amusement underlying his tone. "I'm going to ask Kamiko to marry me."

I snapped the box shut and threw it back to him. He caught it and shoved it back into his pocket in one swift movement and then looked at me expectantly.

I shrugged. "What do you want; my blessing? It's about time you asked her. When's the wedding?"

He chuckled. "You'll be the best man, of course. I want it to be before the war. Who knows what could happen afterwards."

I nodded. "Did you tell Mikami yet?"

"She helped me choose the ring. I've never seen her so excited before."

"We need to work on that boyfriend situation with her. She's already twenty-seven and shows no inkling of liking anyone. That can't be healthy."

He laughed loudly at this and would have gone on like that for a long while if Hyourinmaru hadn't decided that the best idea in the world would be to fall on his head. Teito frowned then picked the dragon up from his lap.

"What the-" he nearly swallowed his tongue when he let out a choked yelp as the toy waved at him. His eyes grew in size as he stared from Hyourinmaru to me.

I just shrugged. "I don't even know."

...

So, I never did get around to showering before Mikami came back. Teito had stayed a little while longer and then gave some lame excuse and left. Hyourinmaru had distracted me for the rest of the afternoon and Toushiro moaned about how he was now surrounded by immature children. He scowled deeply and kept reminding Hyourinmaru that he was a thousand year old dragon and should act like it. Either the dragon was very talented at ignoring people or he really did not care that he was acting like a five-year-old at an amusement park.

_I get that he's your spirit now, but this is embarrassing!_ Toushiro groaned.

_It's not embarrassing if he's having fun, or do you not even know what that word means?_

He just huffed in response and fretted over the two of us for the rest of the afternoon. Then Mikami came back and all hell broke loose.

Twenty minutes later I had showered, changed, and was now making my way to have 'dinner'. The only downfall about knowing about this party before hand was that I would have to act surprised. I knew I was talented enough to pull it off – I had been MacBeth for crying out loud – but somehow I would have preferred to be genuinely surprised. I pushed open the door to his meeting/eating room and just as I had expected it was in complete darkness.

Well, here goes. I flipped on the light switch and there was a chorus of 'surprises' from around the room. I forced my mouth open and took a step back while letting out a moderately loud gasp. As everyone clambered out of their hiding places I couldn't stop the huge smile that made its way on to my face. I wouldn't call myself a social butterfly, but when I saw the amount of people gathered in the small room, I couldn't help but feel a bit popular. I had to do a double take and refrain from checking the number on my fingers; Ichigo would never let me live that one down. Okay, so there was Teito, Mikami, Ichigo, Renji, Rukia, Uryu, Kisuke, Tessai, Yoruichi, Jinta, Ururu, Isshin, Karin, Yuzu, Kamiko and right in the center, holding up a giant, chocolate cake, were Ariwa, Kasai and Adachi. I really _did_ know all of these people.

"Well, don't just stand there, this thing is heavy," Kasai said breaking my sudden bout of inertness.

They put down the cake as I trotted up to them and was enveloped by more than a few of the people around me. Kasai had her hands round my waist, Ariwa had an arm tightly around my shoulder, Adachi had a hand on my other shoulder and someone else was petting my head. I put up with the loud music, people chatting, hugging me and wishing me happy birthday, and the overall warm, steamy atmosphere of the room for the next thirty minutes or so. Parties really weren't my thing, but so much work had been put into this that I couldn't just up and leave. So, I pulled on a smile and made my way to the least crowded corner of the room.

"Oh no you don't," Kasai appeared out or nowhere and grabbed me by the sleeve. "You're not off the hook just because it's your birthday."

I rolled my eyes; what hook? I wasn't aware that there had been any hook to begin with.

"You've been gone for nearly two months and we don't even get so much as a phone call? No emails, no letters, not even an explanation to why you just up and left without telling a soul!"

Oh, _that_ hook. "It's a long story," I muttered.

"We have time." Ariwa emerged from behind Kasai's shoulder with his arms crossed over his chest.

I sighed; I really did owe them an explanation. Everyone who didn't know about the _shinigami_ had been told that I had been sent off to boarding school, i.e. boot camp – that part was implied.

"I'm sorry," I muttered hanging my head. "Things were kinda rushed. New students aren't normally accepted during terms, so they wanted me there as soon as possible. I didn't have time to tell anyone goodbye." I felt bad lying to them, but I couldn't tell them what really happened

"Yeah, but still couldn't you have called to tell us that you're still alive?" she snapped.

Oh boy, what do I say to that? An idea formed in my head and I winced; I was going to have to make myself seem pretty pathetic with this. I looked away from them, pretending to be uncomfortable. I really wished it didn't have to come to this; I wanted nothing more than to be able to tell them the truth. "I... I was scared of what you'd think of me."

I saw the two of them exchange a glance from the corner of my eye. "What?" they asked in unison.

I took a deep breath. "I got expelled after you gave me a warning. I'm not the type of person that anyone would want to be seen with. Even your parents, Ariwa, said that they didn't want you hanging around me. And, well, I was scared that you two had started to feel the same way..."

They were silent for a while then Kasai knocked me on the forehead and Ariwa scowled at me.

"You idiot," Ariwa sighed. "We're your friends _no matter what_ so get that through your thick skull. And for the love of mankind _stop calling me by my family name!_ It's Kazu, damnit."

I smiled guiltily, "Sorry, it's a habit.

Kasai... Chou, chuckled and I noticed – and at the same time tried not to notice – that she had taken ... Kazu's hand in hers. Had they gotten together while I was gone? I looked away trying to think of the least awkward way to ask when I felt someone snatch my beanie from my head. I growled and spun to see Adachi grinning at me and spinning the hat in his left hand.

"They told me you had shaved your head, but I had to see it with my own eyes," he smirked, his dark eyes sparkled mischievously. "That's not a good look on you by the way."

I shot him a cold glare, yanked the hat from his hands and quickly pulled it back onto my head.

"I agree with him for once," Chou chortled. "Why did you do that to your hair? I know you didn't like the colour before, but was it really that bad? Now you really do look like a juvenile delinquent."

"Shut up," I sneered. "It's not like I wanted to do it."

"School regulations?" Kazu supplied.

I nodded.

"So, how're you feeling? I heard you were sick for the past two weeks. Your sister said you couldn't even get out of bed." Adachi changed the subject.

"Wha – oh yeah, pneumonia. I got it really bad this time," I sighed; damnit Mikami, she made me sound like a fragile doll sometimes.

"I'll say, that's why you came home right?" Kazu grimaced shaking his head.

I coughed lightly, "Yeah... Anyway, how's Karakura Middle School now that I'm gone?"

The three of them exchanged uneasy glances.

"Well, more or less the same. It's pretty quiet actually," Kazu muttered, scratching his head.

"There's no one to stir up trouble now that you're gone," Chou smirked.

"Ha ha," I rolled my eyes. "And are you two dating now?" I couldn't help it; I needed to know.

They both blushed and looked away.

"Ugh, don't remind me," Adachi groaned. "The amount of times I've walked in on them making out, and half of the time I feel like I'm third wheeling 'cause they're all over each other-"

"That's not true!" Kazu exclaimed, his face was as red as a tomato. "We've only kissed twice."

He blushed even deeper when he realised what he had said. I chuckled, but I had seen that coming. Chou had liked him pretty much since she laid her eyes on him and he had started liking her back around Christmas time. But what did surprise me was that they seemed to be hanging out with Adachi now – from what I had inferred. That was good, he was half-decent, and needed to make some new friends anyway. I just wondered how that came about. Things had definitely started to change.

I didn't get to ask about it, though, because Mikami ushered us all around the table and declared that it was time to cut the cake. That was the most torturous twenty minutes of my life. I was blinded by cameras flashing, deafened by off-key singing, smothered by several people and forced to down a piece of sickeningly-sweet chocolate fudge cake. I swear I came out of there with diabetes. After the ordeal I retreated back to my corner with my three friends and plopped down on the floor with a tired sigh. We – I should say they – were in the middle of a conversation about this new sitcom that was now airing on television when I caught Teito nervously glancing around the room. I managed to catch his eye and gave a firm nod. He offered me a small smile and nodded back.

"What was that about?" Chou asked, noticing our exchange.

I just grinned. "You'll see in a moment."

She raised an eyebrow but spun around like lightning when we heard a high-pitched squeal followed by a chorus of 'yes's. As everyone crowded around the newly engaged couple, I leaned back against the wall grinning. This was looking up to be a rather hectic few months. I couldn't wait.

* * *

**Heh, filler chapter! Well, they all did deserve a little break with all the things I've been throwing at them recently. Plus, Hyoka's now 13, that in itself deserves a celebration. **

**Don't kill me for changing Hyourinmaru's personality like that, but it's a coping mechanism for Hyoka, I'll explain more in a few chapters, when his personality is really explored... don't worry I have a reason for mostly everything I do in this story :)**

**Again thanks to my beta, AmunRa, for making sure this is as mistake free as possible. **

**And guess what I spent my whole weekend doing. I'm sure everyone remembers the play that happened between chapters 18 and 19. That may have been a let down considering I made quite a bit of hype leading up to it then just skipped over the actual play. But I'm currently drawing a comic of the play. I've posted the first page to my DeviantArt account (link is in my profile) so if anyone's interested in that check it out ant tell me what you think. I have the story line planned out I just hope I can finish it by Christmas... think of it as a Christmas present in that case :)**

**Anyway, thanks for reading, and don't be hesitant to drop a line or two!**

**-Mymomomo**


	28. Chapter 28

**Hey everyone! sorry for the little delay I kinda got tied up with things :/ **

**But anyway, here's the new chapter and thanks to everyone who reviewed or favourited last time (and voted on my poll)**

**Enjoy **

* * *

"Rise and shine my darling little boy!" the covers were ripped from my body and I was roughly shaken awake while an annoying voice sang in my ears.

I groggily cracked open one eye to see Kisuke grinning down at me. "What the hell, it's still dark out," I mumbled and tried to pull back the covers.

"Now none of that, Hyōka-kun, I said we were going to start at the crack of dawn, so up you get."

"You were serious?" I tried to give him an incredulous look, but I'm sure it ended up looking like I was half dead. My eyes were barely open.

"Yes, now up up up,"

I groaned, "Five more minutes."

I closed my eyes and was seconds away from drifting back to sleep when what sounded like an air-horn blasted throughout the room. I bolted upright, now wide awake as Kisuke tucked something into the folds of his green coat.

"Good, now follow me."

I rubbed my face and slowly stood up. Why was it that everyone here was so crazy? Was that a requirement for being a _shinigami? _Toushiro scoffed, just waking up as well.

_Actually it might be._

...

I sat cross-legged across from Kisuke as he described what my training would entail. A well rounded _shinigami_ were trained in three aspects of fighting. First, there was _zanjutsu_: basically sword play, _hakuda_: hand-to-hand combat, and _kido_: demon art spells. He had even printed out a schedule; this was beginning to feel a lot like school. We were sitting at his table as he held up a chart showing me what times were allotted to which aspect of my training. The sad thing was that Saturday and Sunday were included as well.

"So, any questions?" he asked placing his chart to the side.

At the moment I was still too sleepy to function properly; the questions would come later. I shook my head.

"Great, so let's get started then," he led me over to a corner of the room and leaned over to pull back the tatami mat. Beneath was a metal hatch, maybe leading to a basement... or a bomb shelter – I wouldn't put it past him to have one. Well, it made sense; we couldn't exactly train outside. He pulled back the hatch and motioned to me.

"After you."

I peered down; there was a ladder that seemed to go on for miles. I swallowed and instantly started to feel dizzy, so I backed up, just in time too, as my legs gave out a millisecond later. Nausea rose in my stomach and I had to shut my eyes for a second.

I heard Toushiro give a frustrated sigh and Kiskue made a questioning noise.

"Why are we so high up?" I asked fighting to keep my stomach in its right place.

"Oh yeah," he mumbled, "I forgot you were scared of heights. Oh well, I guess it can't be helped," with that he sprang up grabbed me by my waist and threw me over his shoulder.

"What the hell are you doing? Put me down! Put me down – wait, you're not going to jump, no! No! Don't you- No Urahara, NO!"

He did jump. I screamed all the way down, my heart froze and I squeezed my eyes shut as hard as I could. We landed with a thud and a puff of dust.

"See that wasn't so bad, now was it?" Kisuke set me on my feet and I promptly fell over.

"I'm going to be sick," I mumbled feeling a panic attack coming on. I hunched over and tried to calm myself, but we had just jumped down what felt like twenty stories, so that was next to impossible.

"Oh dear," instantly Kisuke was at my side. He knelt next to me and rubbed large, slow circles on my back. "It's alright, you weren't even hurt. There's no reason to panic."

Thankfully, the attack wasn't that bad; I managed to pull myself together in less than five minutes.

"Don't you ever do that to me again!" I shouted at the same time trying to get my breathing back to a normal rate.

He just held up in hands in defense, "How else was I supposed to get you down here?"

I glared at him.

"And who knew you could scream that high? I know you haven't hit puberty yet, but wow."

I glared harder.

"Anyway," he clapped his hands, "let's get started, shall we?"

I frowned and stood up then dusted off my shaky legs; it would take a while for me to calm down fully. I followed Kisuke to the middle of... wait a minute, where the hell were we? We had gone into his basement, I knew for sure, but this looked like we were in the middle of a rocky desert. Where the ceiling should have been was clear blue sky – complete with moving clouds. There were no walls, only sand and rocks for miles and miles in either direction. There were high cliffs to my right and I could feel the sun blazing down on my back. I looked around with my mouth agape.

"Um, Urahara, I think there's something wrong with your basement..."

He glanced over his shoulder at me and chuckled, "It's a pocket dimension I created a while back; comes in handy for things like this, don't you think?"

"Of course, that makes so much sense. Every other person I meet has entire universes just sitting under their house. Why didn't I think of that before?

"Easy on the sarcasm there, kiddo."

I rolled my eyes.

"So, I think we'll start with _reiatsu_ control today. All of a _shinigami's_ power comes from their reiatsu."

"I already know how to control my _reiatsu_," I deadpanned, I did not wake up at the crack of dawn just so he could teach me something I already knew. "Can't we start with _kido_?"

"Sure, if you want to blow yourself up," he looked at me over his shoulder before stopping in the shadow of one of the cliffs and turning to face me. "_Reiatsu_ control is also essential to perform _kido_. If you use too much _reiatsu_ the spell could over power you, drain you of all energy, and blow you to bits; too little and you'll do nothing but waste _reiatsu_. So now, I want you to release your _reiatsu_."

I raised an eyebrow, "What? I thought you just said I needed control."

"If you question my every move we will not get anywhere in this lesson. Just do as I say."

I huffed but closed my eyes and pictured the roaring, blue campfire in the back of my mind. I let out a deep breath and watched with morbid fascination as it grew in size until all I could see were blue flames and the thick, white smoke that they produced. They surrounded me and licked at my body but strangely enough I felt cold where they touched my skin. They felt like small wisps of frosty air as if someone had just opened the door to a freezer. I reached out to entwine my fingers with one of the tongues of fire but was stopped by a hand on my shoulder. Toushiro stood behind me his face had a slightly exasperated expression.

_You know, you really need to learn how to pay attention to what's going on out there as well. Urahara is not going to wait much longer. _

He gave me a little shove and suddenly I was standing in front of Kisuke; cold fog was swirling around our feet and I could have sworn that the clouds had gotten darker as well.

"Not bad, but it shouldn't have to take you so long next time," he said stroking his chin. "Controlling your _reiatsu_ should be as easy and simple as moving an arm. Now I want you to pull it all back in. I don't want to be able to sense a thing from you. "

I pictured the fire shrinking to a candle flame, but kept an eye on the blond man in front of me as well.

"Pull it back even more," he instructed. "I can still feel it."

I frowned; what was smaller than a candle flame? Dying embers? But then wouldn't the flame go out? "I can't; it'll disappear."

"Disappear to where?"

I blinked and imagined that the flame went out in a puff of smoke. It worked from the way Kisuke nodded, but now I felt constricted and strained, like someone had tied a rope around my chest.

"This feels weird," I muttered.

"Then it's going to feel even weirder when I tell you that this is the amount of control you're supposed to have on your _reiatsu_ every second of the day. In battle you need to be precise only letting go and using as much _reiatsu_ as absolutely necessary. Letting your _reiatsu _seep out unguarded will cause you to burn out at a much faster rate."

"Are you serious? I can't concentrate on this and fight at the same time; that's insane."

"That's why we need to work on your control. Now I want you to release only enough so that I alone can feel it."

This went on for about two hours, until he was satisfied with my reaction time and precision. I hadn't known that pulling in and letting out _reiatsu_ could feel so physically draining. I wasn't sweating or out of breath or anything; I just felt tired. I plopped down on the ground and propped my forehead up with my hands.

"Great now that you're warmed up-"

"That was a warm up!"

"'Of course, we haven't even got started yet. We're going to do this every morning until it becomes second nature to you. Now, you're going to have to earn your breakfast. Yoruichi!"

The dark-skinned woman appeared in a flash of orange.

"He's all yours now," Kisuke grinned and slunk away as if he hadn't even been here in the first place.

Yoruichi grinned down at me and I didn't know whether to be nervous or excited.

"Alright, let's see what we have to work with; stand up," she sounded too cheery for my liking. I was now dreading whatever she was going to make me do. I grudgingly stood up and she slowly walked around me as if she was inspecting a car or something. "You really are just skin and bone," she sighed holding my right arm up to her face. "No matter, we'll just have to work twice as hard then." I had to stifle a groan.

"So, Hyōka-kun, what do you know about hand-to-hand combat?"

"I have a black belt in karate,"

"Really, show me," she spread her feet and raised her arms in an invitation to spar.

"What, like right now? Are you going to-" I was cut off by a hard jab to my shoulder. I stumbled backwards gasping in pain. I clutched my shoulder and looked at her in disbelief. "Are you crazy?"

She threw another punch at me and I managed to block it just before her fist made contact with my chin.

"Fighting is about actions and movements. The longer we stand up talking the less time we have to prepare. Now, show me what you've got. "

In all seven rounds of sparring I only hit Yoruichi three times and two of those just grazed her. I had landed on my butt five times, my stomach once, and she had actually put one foot on my chest one time.

"You're not bad, at least we don't have to start from scratch, but you do need a lot of practice," she noted as I leaned over trying to regain my breath. "We definitely need to build some muscle; I could barely feel your punches; it was like someone tapping me on the shoulder."

I glared at her. It wasn't my fault that I was so small or had been starved for three weeks.

"But you're fast and we can build on that. Now, you see that boulder over there and that small gully to our right?"

I nodded.

"Those will be your boundaries. You've got twelve minutes; keep track of how many laps you make, go."

I stared at her; she was not serious about this.

"I said go; each second wasted means you'll have to run for longer."

I shot her an icy glare before I took off. If the rest of my training was going to be like this I was in for hell. When I finished running my legs were on fire, sweat poured down my back and neck like water running from an open faucet, and I was panting like a dog.

"How many did you do?"

I held up seven fingers.

"We need to work on that."

"T..that's less... less th...than two... min...minutes per... lap," I growled between breaths. That was darn well impressive to me.

"Ichigo can do one lap in forty seconds,"

"That's 'cause he's got coconut trees for legs!"

She chuckled and threw a water bottle at me, "Catch your breath then we're doing some calisthenics."

"What?" I asked before I took a long drink.

"Sit-ups, push-up, lunges, squats and jumping jacks. Seven rounds, seven times each."

"You're insane..."

"You're just out of shape."

By breakfast time I was too tired to move. Muscles that I didn't even know I had were hurting. The bruises I had gotten while sparring had time to develop and I looked like a strange breed of leopard. My arms were trembling from the push-ups and my legs from just about everything else. I didn't even have an appetite anymore. I took one spoonful of cereal and felt like I was going to throw up; all I could stomach was water and a mug of green tea. Thankfully, Tessai had brought breakfast down to the training room – I still couldn't believe that this was a basement – because I don't think that I had the strength to climb up that ladder, assuming that I would have the will power to go near it, anyway.

"What are we going to do next?" I asked the two adults sitting in front of me.

"Since you've been such a good boy today, we've decided to give you two hours rest, and then we'll start memorising some _kido_ spells. By that time lunch should be ready, afterwards you'll start _zanjutsu _and we'll end the day with some more _reiatsu_ control exercises."

"... Is everyday going to be like this?"

"Every other day, we do have to get in some time for _jinzen_ and of course you'll have to learn the proper etiquette for if and when you go to the _seireitei_."

"What's _jinzen_?"

"It's a sort of meditation where you'll be trying to make contact with your _zanpakuto_ spirit."

I frowned, "But if I wanted to talk to Hyourinmaru I could do it right now."

Kisuke stared at me with his mouth half open, "You've already made contact with Hyourinmaru?"

I nodded.

"Is there anything else you've neglected to tell us?"

I paused; there was still the whole issue of Toushiro being a hollow, but there was something about the way that Kisuke was looking at me that made me nervous. I shook my head, ignoring Toushiro's frustrated sigh.

_You can't keep this bottled up forever, you know. We need to tell him. _

_Not yet..._

_Then when?_

_I don't know. If it becomes a problem then we'll go to him for help. _

_If it becomes a problem? You know I can't control it, you saw what happened before. _

_And it hasn't happened since. I know what I'm doing. _

_Really, because it just seems like you're scared to me._

_Scared! What do I have to be afraid of? I don't need to go running for help with all of my problems, okay. I'll decide when it becomes too much for me to handle and before that comes to pass I'll be doing fine on my own. _

He scowled at me and turned away before muttering under his breath, _You're so stupid._

_I heard that-_

"Hyōka-kun, are you listening to me?"

I blinked and flinched when Kisuke knocked me on the forehead with one of his knuckles.

"Um, what was that?"

"I was saying that you'll still need to practice _jinzen_ so you can unlock Hyourinmaru's _shikai_. Are you sure you don't have anything else to tell us?"

I nodded again.

"Okay, you can take your break now. I'll tell you when it's time to continue with our lessons."

...

I wanted nothing more than to pass out this very moment. My legs hurt, my arms hurt, my back was on fire, and I could feel blood rushing in my skull. My palms were covered in blisters from holding the wooden sword during _zanjutsu_ practice and there was a grapefruit sized lump on my right thigh from when Kisuke had hammered me with the hilt of his _bokken_, not to mention the numerous welts that were sure to rise up on my arms and back. Kisuke's method of teaching sword play was to literally throw me into the deep end and watch if I could swim. Then the _reiatsu_ control exercises at the end drained all that was left of my energy. I found that I couldn't control my _reiatsu _at all when I was tired; the sky had darkened a shade and wisps of cool fog drifted along the ground next to me.

So, here I was two inches from passing out lying on my back in the reddish-brown dust of Kisuke`s training room. It had to be nearly sundown outside, however, inside the training room mid-afternoon light still blazed down on me. I felt my eyes begin to droop and I didn't even have the energy to fight it.

...

_A cold wind blew through my shirt causing me to shiver a bit. I folded my arms around myself, this cold was nothing like the cold on the plain of ice it felt harsh, evil almost. I glanced around me everything was dark, I could see faded mountains in the distance and grey shadows blanketed the snow at my feet. The moon above my head had been snuffed out and the plain of ice was cast into all-consuming darkness. _

"_Hyourinmaru?" I called, my voice echoed eerily across the plain. There was no answer. I couldn't even feel his presence. "Toushiro?" Again there was no reply. _

_I wrapped my arms tighter around my body. Where were they? I chewed my bottom lip and glanced around fervently. I was scared, it was pitch black and I was all alone. Who knew what was lurking out here? _

_There was a harsh cackle from behind me I spun sending snow everywhere. _

"_Looking for me?" _

_My eyes widened and I tried to back away but a thin arm of steel grabbed the front of my shirt and prevented me from going anywhere. I looked into the lifeless gold eyes of Toushiro's hollow form; he was grinning like a maniac, his pointed teeth bit into chapped lips and he licked away the small drops of blood that formed. I grimaced in disgust and tried to pull away from him. _

"_What's the matter, Hyōka, are you scared of me?" his voice was a malevolent hiss that sounded like the crackling of a fire but at the same time sent violent chills down my spine. _

"_W-what do you want?" I growled still trying to get out of his grasp. _

_He raised a thin white eyebrow, "What do I want?" he pulled me closer until our noses were just touching. My body tensed and I found myself unable to move; all I could do was stare into his eyes as he snickered. "I want you, your body." _

_I flinched and pushed at his chest with all my strength, but it was no use; this guy was like an iron statue. I felt one of his hands come up to the back of my head and his nails dug into my scalp. "I want control," he sneered, "and I'm going to beat you into submission until I get it."_

"_Never,"_

_He frowned and his eyes flashed with utter rage, "You think you can fight me? Me? You're delusional, boy. You're shaking in fear as we speak; you will never be able to beat me."_

"_Maybe not, but I can fight, and I will never let you take control-" _

_He let out an enraged growl and the next thing I knew I was on the ground clutching my right cheek, blood dripping between my fingers. I looked up in horror as the hollow raised his hand to his face and licked my blood from his claws. _

"_Then I'll just have to make it so you can't fight." _

_He leapt at me and I felt his cold hand enclose around my throat._

"No!" I yelled and prepared myself to attempt to push him off me but the blackened plain of ice faded and I found myself staring up into Ichigo's brown eyes. He was letting a bit of his _reiatsu_ flow out so I wouldn't have a panic attack.

"Hey, take it easy, Hyōka," he exclaimed and pinned me down so I couldn't attack him. "What's wrong?"

I took a moment to calm myself just realising that I was shaking and cold sweat covered every inch of my body. "Nothing, it was just a bad dream."

He looked like he didn't believe me but didn't press the subject. "What did Kisuke do to you?" he brought his hand up to my cheek and tilted my head to get a better look.

My eyes widened and my hands flew up to lightly graze the three gouges on my cheek. Those were from the hollow... I glanced at Toushiro with my mind's eye. He was passed out cold, I wasn't sure if it was the hollow's doing or from the training today. A chill shot up my spine, I thought that it had been a dream, but now I realised that if the hollow wanted to kill me he could damn well do so. I felt all the blood drain from my face; maybe I should tell someone about this problem. I glanced at Ichigo who was blissfully unaware of what was going on in my mind; for once his face held a semblance of peacefulness. These past few weeks had been a trying time for everyone. I could only just imagine what he had gone through for my sake. Should I really trouble him with another one of my problems? Plus, I was learning to fight; pretty soon I would be able to stand up to the hollow. Ichigo had done enough for me and it was time I stopped relying on him, anyway.

"We should get this cleaned out," he muttered then paused and looked me up and down, "but I think that you should take a shower first. What colour was that shirt this morning?"

I looked down at myself, rust coloured dust was stuck to me in layers and the skin of my arms was randomly blotched with purple bruises and scrapes. I really was a mess. I slowly stood up wincing as my sore muscles protested against the movement. "How did I end up here?" I asked only just noticing that I was no longer in Urahara's training room but back in the spare room I had been using for the past week.

"I found you passed out downstairs; Kisuke said you had a tough time today. I knew you wouldn't have been able to get back up that ladder so I brought you up while you were sleeping."

"Thanks," I muttered and pulled my shirt over my head. God, that hurt; my biceps felt like jelly and I could barely move them.

Ichigo chuckled at my expression, "You're going to feel even worse tomorrow."

"Why's that?"

"Because you're going to have to do the same thing over, plus you're going to be sore from today. But don't worry; you'll get used to it soon."

* * *

**Urahara is a teacher from hell, huh? Well they only got 3 months to turn Hyoka into a captain class shinigami. I know Ichigo did it in a couple of weeks, but Hyoka's only 13 he can't hope to match Ichigo yet :P **

**And as promised the hollow is getting more air time he'll be making many more appearences in future chapters :)**

**Hope you all liked it and please leave a comment or two on your way out **

**-Mymomomo**


	29. Chapter 29

**Hi everyone, I'm so sorry for taking so long to post this. Christmas time was hectic and so was most of January. But I'm now settled in at college, so from now on updates will most likely be very sparse. I'll try my best... maybe a chapter a month but it all depends on my work load. **

**Anyway, to compensate for the long wait, I made this one a little action-y. Hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

"_Shut up! Shut up and get out of my head!" I shouted covering my ears and squeezing my eyes shut. _

_The hollow laughed, "You'll have to make me."_

_I cracked open an eye and there he was standing over me, one foot on my chest, wearing that overly-confident, sick grin. I swallowed and tried to scoot away from him but he pushed me further into the snow. _

"_Leave me alone," I repeated, but with much less gusto than before. _

_His grin widened and he bent over to fist the front of my shirt, "No, I don't think I want to. Each day that passes I get closer to having your body."_

"_That's never going to happen," I snarled and he put more pressure on my chest causing me to choke. _

"_Oh, really? You're weak, Koko-chan."_

"_Shut up."_

"_You can't even take care of yourself. Your sister and brother had to give up their lives to take care of you. Do you think they like it? You're a burden. Imagine what happy, carefree lives they could be living if you hadn't been born."_

"_Shut up!"_

"_You couldn't even stop your mother from dying."_

_I clenched my teeth and felt tears prick my eyes. _

"_Your father was the smart one; he offed himself before you came around."_

"_... He was murdered-"_

"_Is that what they told you?"_

_I blinked, what did he mean by that? The hollow laughed at my expression. _

"_I think you'd be better off dead."_

"_Shut up!" I yelled and tried to push him away. _

_He just pressed back harder. "Everyone'll thank me for getting rid of you."_

"_So, if I'm so weak, then why haven't you gotten rid of me already? Huh, what are you waiting for?" It probably wasn't a smart idea to provoke him, but I generally didn't do smart things when I was angry. _

_The hollow pulled back his lips into a snarl and stooped down over me; his face was an inch from my ear, "Because I want to make you suffer."_

_My breath caught in my throat and dread seeped down my spine. Terrified, I looked up into his manic, golden eyes and his snarl turned into a demented smile. _

"Hyōka-kun, it's time to wake up!"

I awoke with a start; my heart was beating frantically and cold sweat dripped down my face.

"Hyōka, is everything alright?" Kisuke poked his head from behind the open door.

I took a few deep breaths and then covered my face with my palms as I tried to erase the lingering terror. "Yeah, I'm fine; it was just a dream."

He hummed in acknowledgement. "Okay then. Your lessons start in ten minutes."

I hunched over on the futon when he left. My heart was still pounding.

_I think you should tell someone now,_ Toushiro offered, his voice shaky, _this is getting out of hand._

Hyourinmaru rumbled in agreement. The two were sitting motionlessly in the snow. Hyourinmaru was curled around Toushiro, who was slightly paler than normal.

I gritted my teeth and forced myself to stand. _I can handle it._

_No you can't-_

_Shut up! I'm not weak! _ I yelled; the volume of my voice surprised me.

His eyes widened a fraction but other than that he had no reaction to my outburst. Hyourinmaru, on the other hand, eyed me solemnly with one ruby-coloured eye.

_I never said you were,_ he muttered. _Fine, do as you please._

With that he practically kicked me out of my inner world and refused to speak to me. I sighed; Toushiro did not like being shouted at or to have his input completely disregarded. But I could not go blabbing about this hollow problem; I had no idea how everyone else would react. This was for his safety; if he wanted to act like a spoilt brat about it then I would let him.

...

"We're going to try _jinzen_ today," Kisuke told me as we sat down facing each other.

I blinked, "but I've already-"

"You're not on the level I want you to be. Yes, you know he's there but you two haven't really 'talked', now have you?"

"Well-"

"That's precisely my point. Now concentrate; I want you to tell me everything Hyourinmaru said when you're done."

I sighed and turned my consciousness to the plain of ice. Hyourinmaru was lying in a snow bank, stretched out as if he was sun bathing. I still couldn't get over how large he was. Toushiro was a short way off idly staring at the sky. He didn't even acknowledge my presence so I knew he was still ticked off at me.

I grit my teeth and walked up to him anyway, _What do I have to do to get Hyourinmaru to talk to me? _

He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, _I can't tell you. It would be meaningless if you didn't figure it out on your own._

I frowned, _I don't understand._

_I'm not going to spell everything out for you_, he huffed, _Figure it out on your own; you have a brain, don't you?_

I glared, _I-_

_I offered my advice and you didn't want it, so tough luck._

I folded my arms across my chest, _And you call me childish; I wonder who's being stupid now._

He just rolled his eyes and turned them back to the sky, _still you._

I was about to retort but an icy tail was wrapped around my legs. I yelped softly as Hyourinmaru knocked me off my feet. I turned angrily to the dragon. He was obviously peeved at being made to get up; a low growl echoed softly throughout the plane. I stared into his eyes and swallowed, angering Hyourinmaru wasn't at the very top of my to-do list. However, seconds later he blew a puff of frosty air into my face and plopped back down into the snow. Even when resting on the ground his gargantuan snout was level with my face and he gazed expectantly at me I frowned; I had no idea what he wanted

I heard Toushiro let out a forceful breath of air. _Concentrate. Hyourinmaru is willing to communicate with you, but you have to let him._

Let him... I chewed my bottom lip. How the hell was I supposed to do that? Hyourinmaru nudged me. I guess he intended it to be a gentle push but I almost toppled backwards. I had to place my hands on his snout to keep my balance.

As soon as my fingers touched his scales the wind suddenly picked up, snow was thrown into the air, and grey clouds formed in the sky. My gaze, however, was locked with Hyourinmaur's I couldn't turn away from the vivid, red eyes. Everything around me disappeared; it was just me and the dragon.

I had no idea how much time had passed, but it seemed like ages before Hyourinmaru emitted a low rumble. I frowned; I still couldn't understand him.

_I can't-_

He cut me off with a soft snarl and his rumbling began to get louder causing me to flinch in shock.

_Hyourinmaru, I can't understand!_ I exclaimed in frustration after a couple minutes.

He blinked and some foreign emotion crossed his eyes. I could have sworn he looked hurt.

I rubbed my hand up and down his snout, _I'm sorry, but I don't even know where to begin to get this right._

He huffed, streams of icy air billowing from his nostrils and enveloping me for a short minute. As the air cleared I felt a hand on my shoulder.

_You need to clear you mind, Hyōka,_ Toushiro said with a sigh.

I raised an eyebrow, _I thought-_

He tilted his head sideways, _Don't think. All you have to do is keep your mind clear and open. Until then you won't be able to understand Hyourinmaru_.

_I don't-_

_We'll try again tomorrow; you're a bit too worked up right now._

I sighed and the plain of snow faded back into Kisuke's training room. Toushiro was right though, my thoughts kept on flashing back to my encounter with the hollow this morning.

Kisuke was looking at me expectantly when I opened my eyes, "So, how'd it go?"

I got up and stretched, "I still can't understand him."

Kisuke scratched his chin but then stood up and threw a _bokken, _which he had somehow manifested from under his coat, at me.

I sighed again and moved to block what would have been a vicious blow to my head.

...

"What's wrong, Hyōka?" Yoruichi asked as I fell on my butt for the ninth time that day, "You seem distracted," she relaxed her fists and knelt down beside me.

"I want to go home..." I muttered looking at the ground.

"Where's this coming from? It's only been two weeks; I didn't take you as the type to quit so easily."

I hung my head and looked at her out of the corner of my eyes. Words refused to form at my lips, though. So, I just picked at a small stone embedded in the dirt at my feet.

"What's the matter? You've been out of it lately."

I eyed her wearily. There was a reason for that. I discovered that all this training made me exhausted beyond belief, which in turn made me lose control of my _reiatsu_ more easily, which in turn made it easier for the hollow to come out, _which in turn made me even more tired. _It was a vicious cycle, where every time I tried to rest I was fighting for my sanity and –as weird as is sounded – my body.

"I'm just tired," I mumbled at length.

"You haven't been sleeping well, am I correct?"

I slowly nodded.

"So basically when we come to train the next day you're pretty much running on an empty tank. If you need a break, I'll gladly give one to you since you've made a lot of progress. But being tired is no reason to quit."

"I'm not quitting, I'm just..."

"Feeling homesick? I'm guessing when you can't sleep you either end up with Teito or Mikami or they come to you."

I looked away; she made it sound so infantile, but yes, that was what usually happened. These past few weeks the hollow had been terrorising me in my dreams. Hyourinmaru and Toushiro could offer me comfort – mentally, but when I woke up trembling in cold sweat I couldn't exactly go running to cuddle up with Kisuke.

Yoruichi grinned and ruffled my hair, "I keep on forgetting how young you really are."

I raised an eyebrow; usually it was the opposite.

"We're keeping you here because it's easier for your training; it is a twenty minute walk to your apartment. But hey, let's say we call it quits for today and go for a walk? You haven't been out of this house in ages, right?"

I looked up at her, "I thought we were pressed for time?"

"I just beat you five times in the last three minutes; I don't think we'll get anywhere if you continue in this state."

After a quick shower and a small snack, Yoruichi and I were slowly strolling around Karakura Community Park. I hadn't wanted to go there because it was so close to Mashiba middle school and even though I had not gone there I knew that word got around; rumors spread like butter on a hot pan in this town. I didn't want to hear what anyone was saying about me this time. As chance would have it around five minutes after we reached the park school let out and what should have been a quiet, relaxing afternoon turned out to be quite the opposite.

I spied some kid staring at me with something akin to disbelief and fear on his face. I sighed and turned away. Then another kid pointed me out to his group of friends; the whispers started up after that. I caught snippets of conversations and tried my best to ignore them.

"What's he doing back here?"

"Wasn't he sent to juvie or something?"

"I guess even military school couldn't handle him."

I sent a nasty glare at a passerby, slightly pleased that they sped up as soon as they saw me.

"You really made a name for yourself, huh kid?" Yoruichi asked with a small smile.

I scowled, "I... no... well, yeah. I didn't do it on purpose, though."

She chuckled softly, "Come to think of it, Ichigo was something of a rebel in his middle school days as well."

"I'm not a rebel," I scowled, "I've just done a few things that had awful repercussions, that's all. And Ichigo, a rebel? As in Kurosaki goody-two-shoes-doctor Ichigo?"

She laughed, "Yeah, he was somewhat of a punk back in the day."

"I don't believe it."

"Well you better, he and his friend Chad had a bit of a reputation for getting into fights and beating people up."

I raised an eyebrow, "The hypocrite; he got mad at me when Adachi and I got into fights," I paused, "So, how did Ichigo get involved with the _shinigami_?"

She shook her head, "That's a very long story, I'll tell you sometime later – hey do you want ice-cream? There's a shop down the street."

"No thanks; I don't really like sweet-"

"I'll buy you one. Let's go," with that she yanked me to my feet and took off in the direction of the ice cream shop.

A bell above the door jingled as I pushed it open. School had only been out for twenty minutes or so but the shop was already crammed full of kids. I tried to make myself invisible and pushed my back firmly against the wall. I pulled my beanie further down my head and lowered my gaze to the ground. The less people the noticed me the better.

"What flavour do you want?" Yoruichi asked brightly.

"I don't' really want-"

"Vanilla? Great,"

I sighed and watched her flounce over to the counter. Where did Kisuke find these people, honestly? I pushed myself further into the wall keeping an eye on the dark-skinned woman and at the same time trying not to make eye contact with anyone. That was easier said than done because somehow Yoruichi disappeared into the crowd and I, for the life of me, could not spy her from my position. I huffed and focused all my attention on my shoes. Even though it was February things were starting to warm up a bit. There hadn't been much snow this winter, but muddy slush had soaked through my sneakers from the walk. Mikami would kill me if she saw them and start yelling and asking why I didn't wear snow boots or something like that. I rolled my eyes at the thought.

"Hyōka!" I raised my head my eyes going wide. That woman, what was she doing shouting my name across the – oh. Chou was shoving her way through the crowd with Kazu in tow.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded as she gave me a quick hug.

"Yoruichi decided that I needed to get out of the house."

Kazu chuckled, "I'll say, we haven't seen you in almost a week. You're probably vitamin D deficient by now."

I rolled my eyes, "Shut up."

"Seriously though, what's up with you becoming a recluse?"

I shrugged, "I've been... busy,"

Chou snorted, "With what?"

"... Stuff. Kisuke has me doing chores and school work; things like that."

"That sucks," she muttered, "You're coming with us, though. We were going to head over to Kazu's house after this."

"I don't know if I can," I sighed looking over to the cash register; Yoruichi had disappeared again, however. Chou and Kazu exchanged a scoff; I had never really cared if I was allowed to do something or not before. Yes, I admit, it was a lame excuse.

"If you can do what?" I jumped a mile as Yoruichi materialised behind me.

"Can he come over to Kazu's house with us?" Chou asked.

"I don't see why not," she grinned at me and shoved an ice-cream cone into my hands, "just be back before nightfall.

I promptly handed the ice-cream to Chou and nodded to Yoruichi. She ruffled my hair and sashayed towards the exit, "I'll see you later, Hyōka."

I sighed and turned to the other two, "Shall we go?"

...

"I don't understand it," Kazu groaned, running a hand through his hair, "how the hell can you understand this if you haven't even been to school in three months!"

I shrugged and sat back on the bed with a smirk, "I'm just that good at maths."

He rolled his eyes, "self-absorbed prick."

"Do you want my help or not?"

He grumbled and shoved his notebook towards me.

I tried to hide a chuckle and examined the numbers on the page. It took Kazu exactly seven minutes before he gave up and started to play video games. And, since it didn't make sense for me to sit around doing his homework, I joined in while Chou was lounging on the bed with her laptop.

We had completely lost track of time until Kazu's door swung open with a loud bang, "Kazu, mom says it's time for dinner."

I closed my eyes briefly and hoped to dear god that Rei had got over her crush on me or at least didn't see me.

"Hyōka, you came back!"

I winced; it was too much to ask for, I guess. I glanced to the door and our eyes met for a split second before I looked away.

"Yeah... I'm back,"

She squealed and ran from the doorway, "I'm going to tell mom!"

I sighed and punched Kazu in the arm for laughing, "Shut up, it's not funny."

"Ow," he exclaimed pulling away from me, "Geez have you been working out or something?"

I rolled my eyes, "Don't change the subject. Make her stop, it's annoying."

"I think it's knida cute, actually," Chou grinned hopping off the bed.

"Oh, don't you start-"

"She's waited all this time for you; you should be nice at least."

"I'm leaving."

"You suck."

"If it's dinner time I've passed my curfew,"

She sighed, "Fine, but we need to make plans again, maybe we should go to a movie or something."

"Yeah that sounds cool."

...

Twenty-five minutes later I tried to sneak back into Kisuke's shop. I thought I was doing a pretty good job until I spied Yoruichi standing behind the door with her arms folded across her chest.

"I thought I told you before nightfall."

I averted my eyes from her gaze, "sorry, I lost track of time."

"So, how was your afternoon? Tessai left some dinner out for you if you're hungry."

"Actually, I think I'll just go straight to bed. I have a feeling training is going to be doubly hard tomorrow."

She raised an eyebrow, "You guessed correctly. Try to get a good night's sleep."

...

Hyourinmaru bared his back to me as an indication for me to get on. I blinked at the dragon in front of me.

_Are you serious?_

He grunted.

_No way, you know I can't stand heights._

_You need to get over this_, Toushiro sighed.

_I'm not going flying with you two, _I stated folding my arms across my chest. Already I could feel my heart beat begin to pick up pace.

_Do you trust us? _

_Yes,_

_Enough to be sure we won't let you fall?_

_I..._

He rolled his eyes, _Get up here._

I swallowed and allowed Toushiro to pull me up to sit on the joint between Hyourinmaru's neck and shoulders. The vertigo hit then and I had to close my eyes.

_Hyōka calm down,_

_What if I slip?_

_Just hold on tightly. It's just like riding a horse._

Hyourinmaru snorted in annoyance.

_Grab onto the spike in front of you,_he continued ignoring the dragon and planted himself firmly behind me while looping an arm around my waist.

I did as I was told but my hands were trembling so badly I could barely get a grip.

_We're ready back here, Hyourinmaru._

He let out a soft rumble and extended his wings. He did a few experimental flaps, which caused my stomach to churn uncomfortably, before leaping into the air. I clutched the spike in front of me to my chest and squeezed my eyes shut. I felt Toushiro's hold tighten around my waist.

_The take off is always the worst part._

We were moving in jerks, up and down, as Hyourinmaru tried to gain enough height to be able to catch a few updrafts. The wind was almost razor sharp against my face and I would dare not open my eyes. I did not like this one bit. Something was going to go wrong; if human beings were meant to fly I think we would have evolved with wings. The dizzy feeling increased and even though my eyes were closed I began to feel sick. In the back of my mind I was fighting off a panic attack and I'm sure Toushiro could feel my heart pounding from his place behind me. I was surprised that I wasn't yelling my head off, actually, but my chest felt tight, constricted, so I don't think I could have even spoken much less screamed.

_Hold on, we're almost high enough for Hyourinmaru to soar._

I convulsed a little; we had to go higher? I tightened my hold on the spike; I could feel my shoulders screaming in agony. Also, every so often, I felt Hyourinmaru tilt dangerously to the side and for split seconds I couldn't feel anything at all. I could practically see myself plummeting to the ground below.

I knew Hyourinmaru was a dragon and dragons were meant to fly; so I had to get over my fear of heights sooner or later. That was easier said than done, right? Suddenly the jerking stopped and Hyourinmaru's flight pattern became much smoother, he wasn't beating his wings nearly as much and I could feel him slowly weaving through air currents. Actually, a small part of me found this to feel very soothing. I still wouldn't dare to open my eyes, though, and my heart was still beating a mile per second. I would not be able to stay up here for much longer. Each passing second made it hard to fight back the oncoming panic attack. I took a few deep breaths and almost threw up during one of them. I don't think I could feel any worse.

I heard Toushiro snort, _Are you still scared?_ I froze, dread creeping into my spine. That wasn't Toushiro anymore; it was the hollow who was laughing at me now. I could practically feel the cold killing intent roll off of him in waves.

Then the world basically came crashing down around me. If I had been terrified before then right now I was close to being petrified. I swallowed, feeling my heart slow to a stop and tears began to form in my eyes. Hyourinmaru had started to growl threateningly, but there wasn't much he could do to help at the moment.

The hollow began to laugh, _How the hell is it that you, a pathetic little child who's scared of his own shadow, gets to have such power?_

I whimpered as I felt him trace my spine with one of his claws then painfully burry his hand in my hair.

_I told you that I was going to kill you._

Tears slowly dripped down my cheeks. I couldn't even move because of how scared I was. I really was pathetic, wasn't I?

The hollow gripped a fist full of my hair then suddenly I was tumbling off Hyourinmaru's side. My eyes flew open and my voice was finally able to break through the barrier in my throat. Right now, falling to my death, I was literally too scared to think and I lost all control over my body. My heart was having palpitations, my stomach was twisting itself into knots, and my head was spinning. Somewhere in the back of my mind I heard Hyourinmaru let out a pained roar, and in a deep, rumbling voice that sounded like it belonged to a god my name echoed throughout the plain of ice.

...

I landed on my bed, my eyes flew open to see the darkened ceiling – blurred from tears, my body was covered in sweat and I felt like I was on a boat. I sat up and swallowed against the nausea. Never had my heart beat so fast before this. I slowly took in my surroundings; it was still dark, probably just after midnight, and I realised with dread and embarrassment that my pants were wet. I rubbed a knuckle between my eyebrows. This could not have happened; I could _not_ have peed myself. I clenched my jaw and slowly rolled off the futon. I quickly stripped the bed and threw the sheets into a corner where all my dirty training clothes were then ripped off my sopping boxer shorts and t-shirt.

I stood stock still for a moment; all the moving around had made me feel dizzy and the ground was tilting ever so slightly. I took a deep breath; maybe a shower would help. I glanced down the hallway, hoping that no one was awake – I really didn't want anyone to see me streaking down the hallway – and sprinted to the bathroom. It would have gone much smoother if I hadn't stumbled over every step. As soon as I reached the bathroom, however, my stomach revolted and I had just enough time to throw myself at the toilet before I was vomiting my guts out. And with the vomit came the memories of my most recent encounter with the hollow. Seconds later I was gasping for air between coughing up mouthfuls of bile and bawling my eyes out. A new batch of cold sweat had formed on my body and I was trembling hard enough to induce a seizure. The waves of panic blocked everything else from my senses and I was literally throwing up in a black box of fear.

...

I woke up in somebody's arms. Everything was blurry and my mind felt groggy but I could tell that I was still in the bathroom. I was shifted into a sitting position and a glass of water was pressed to my lips. I drank; the cool water alerted me to my dry, burning throat. Soon enough my vision cleared and though I still felt rather weak, and slightly queasy, I forced myself from the pair of arms and sat back on my heels. I wasn't even surprised that it was Ichigo sitting in front of me. We stared at each other for a long minute.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded.

Ichigo snorted, "You're welcome."

"It's not even sunrise yet, Kurosaki. How the hell did you know I was having a panic attack?"

"I was on patrol and Kisuke called, said you needed my help," he said with a shrug. "Now what's all this about, bad dream?"

I sighed, "Yeah, I'm sorry-"

He held up a hand, "Don't apologise; it's not your fault. Was it about Aizen again?"

I paused I could tell him about the hollow and it could be all over... "Yeah, I... he... it was when he captured me."

I felt bad for lying, especially when his eyes softened guiltily. "We should get you cleaned up and then you should try to get back to sleep. I'll talk to Kisuke about cancelling your training today."

I nodded but froze and my eyes widened when I realised that I was still naked. My hands flew to cover myself and I felt all the blood in my body rush to my face.

Ichigo chuckled softly and stood up, "Why cover up now? I've already seen everything."

I glared at him.

"What, Mikami didn't tell you that we had to strip you for Tessai to perform the healing _kido_?"

I could have fried an egg on my face right then.

"It's okay, kid, that's gonna happen a lot."

"What?!"

He laughed harder and extended his arm to help me up. "Can you stand?"

I got to my knees before nausea exploded like a bomb. I shook my head and sat back down trying to keep my stomach and its contents in place. I heard him sigh and he picked me up by the armpits and held me against his chest.

"I'm guessing a sponge bath is in order," he snickered.

"Kurosaki, don't you dare."

...

_Hyōka, you have to tell someone,_ Toushiro said softly.

After last night's episode I agreed with him but_, I don't know how they'll react. What if they try to kill you?_

_They won't._

_How do you know? Are there _Visored_ in the Soul Society?_

_...No, actually _shinigami_ don't take too kindly to _Visored_..._

_And you expect me to tell-_

_Ichigo and Kisuke aren't normal _shinigami_ they won't do anything to harm you,_

_It's not me that I'm worried about..._

_Hyōka_, Toushiro sighed and sent me an exasperated look but his eyes held genuine worry and care, _If I turn into a hollow one more time I could kill you, and I can't stress enough how much I'd like to prevent that._

I sighed, _Fine I'll talk to them tonight._

_Good,_

_Ichigo's going to kill me, though..._

Toushiro smirked; the bastard.

* * *

**So... the hollow actually creeps me out :/ Hmm who would have thought that it would take almost dying to get Hyoka to admit that he needs help; he's such a stubborn little boy.**

**But now He can partially understand Hyourinmaru and he's close to harnessing his shinigami powers... The next chapter is sure to be interesting, heh, I just have to sit down and write it. **

**Leave a review, now that there's going to be a huge plot development I'd like to hear what everyone has to say :)**

**-Mymomomo **


	30. Chapter 30

**Hi everyone, sorry for the wait. My computer died on me and I had to wait a bit before I got a new one. Thankfully I backed up all my stuff so I didn't lose too much :/ It was still quite a bother though. And college keeps on getting more hectic... I'm done in a month though so you can except a few updates for summer :) **

**But anyway, here you go; enjoy. **

* * *

I couldn't believe that I had begged Kisuke to allow me go out that night. One: I never asked permission for anything; two: I didn't like going out. But I had to admit that Chou's argument was very persuasive. She had told me that if I didn't go to the movie cinema with them that night she would skip school to see exactly what I was up to. I couldn't have her finding out about my training so I had grudgingly agreed, even though I knew that I would probably not have the energy to sit through a movie after training. Also, the green-clad-devil-in-disguise decided that I needed to learn a thing or two about responsibility and made me spend all my spare time – because I had so much of that floating around – working in his store. I guess it was a good thing because he paid me – less than minimum wage mind you – and I would be able to repay the man I had stolen money from.

I sighed and leaned against the broom I was using to sweep the store. It was past closing time, thank god, and all that was left to do was tidy up a bit. Because my training took up most of the day I would end up cleaning and re-arranging the shelves after the store was closed. It usually only took me an hour or so, but sometimes I think that Hanakari Jinta – the assistant manager, would purposely make a mess so that I would take longer. I had only seen the red-haired man a few times since the meeting three weeks ago, but every time I saw him I wanted to punch his face in; he was loud and violent and always tried to get me to fight with him. I swear, after this war was over I wanted nothing to do with _shinigami_.

Toushiro chuckled.

_What? You see how much trouble they cause for me._

_You exaggerate; you cause more than half the trouble for yourself. _

I scowled at him.

_Which reminds me that you still haven't told Kisuke about our little problem..._

_...There hasn't been a good opportunity. And it's not a pressing matter anyway..._

_So the gouge marks I... he put in your stomach and thigh last night aren't pressing. I suppose not, considering you don't need to walk anyway. _

_They weren't that bad, Mr. Drama Queen. _

_If I didn't tell you how to tourniquet your leg you could have bled out... stop being such a fool, Hyōka, the hollow can kill you. _

I sighed, _I know, I just don't know how to bring it up..._

_You could have at least asked him to heal your leg; you wouldn't be in such pain now._

_He would have asked where the injuries came from. _

_And that would have created the perfect moment to tell him. _

I rolled my eyes. _I'm going to talk to him, there's no need to rush things._

He rubbed his forehead with a knuckle,_ You of all people should be aware of the danger the hollow is to you. I don't understand why you want to put yourself in so much danger. _

_Chill, Toushiro, I can handle-_

_No, you're tired and he always takes advantage of that. Plus, you're going to that movie tonight and spending energy that you don't have. I have a bad feeling about this. _

_You're such an old man sometimes; as long as I don't fall asleep it should be fine. _

He huffed and shook his head. _Yes, but can you stay awake? _

...

I met Chou, Kazu and Adachi at the movie cinema. We had decided on some comedy that I couldn't be bothered to learn the name of. But as soon as we sat down and the lights dimmed I was fighting to stay awake. I had asked Adachi beforehand not to let me fall asleep so every so often he would not so gently jab me in the ribs or kick my foot. It worked until he got annoyed and told me to go take a walk or something. This was how I found myself in the restroom splashing freezing cold water on my face. Toushiro was right; this had been a bad idea.

I glanced up at my reflection and then stumbled back into one of the stalls with a loud gasp. My breathing echoed along the empty room and the stall door banged against the tiled wall with a resounding clack. I swore that my eyes had turned gold for a second. What the hell? No, not now, I couldn't deal with this right now. I dragged my palms down my face. This was the last thing I needed right now; who knows what could happen if the hollow got at me tonight. I felt my leg throb mildly at the thought. Toushiro had done a good job with the on the spot medical treatment; he even managed to stitch my leg up with dental floss, but I digress; I could not let anything like that happen tonight.

"Hey, you alright?"

I jumped and spun around. Kazu held up his hands and shrugged off my jumpy response.

I sighed and scratched the back of my neck. "Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit tired."

He snorted, "I saw Adachi kicking you to keep you awake. I don't think 'a bit' are strong enough words."

"Fine, I'm exhausted; completely and utterly drained."

"So do you want to go home?"

"No, the movie isn't even done yet."

"It doesn't matter; it sucks anyway. I got bored of it ages ago. The only reason I could stand it for so long was because Chou was insulting the actors."

I shook my head, "Then if you guys wouldn't mind; I want nothing more than to leave."

He nodded. "I'll go get them."

...

I felt like I was going to drop any second. Each step was tortuous and my eyes would shut themselves every so often.

"We can take a short cut through here," Chou instructed, "I've been through this one before."

"What is up with you and going through these creepy construction sites?" Kazu muttered. "Aren't you scared that something could fall on you? Or someone could jump you?"

"Please, Kazu, nothing like that happens in Karakura. But I'm happy to know you care."

"Of course I care! You keep on doing crazy things, you're gonna make me get grey hair from worrying so much!"

I mentally rolled my eyes but paused when Adachi put his hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, I have a bad feeling about this place." he whispered.

I frowned, "What do you-"

I froze and we both muttered the word at the same time, "Hollow."

"Shit," I swore under my breath and Adachi began to chew the inside of his cheek.

"What do we do about these two?" he asked.

I glanced over to Kazu and Chou who were happily arguing a few feet ahead of us. "I don't know, just try to keep them away from it. Kurosaki or Urahara should be nearby; they never let me go anywhere alone."

He nodded, "This one feels strong though, what if they don't make it in time?"

"I've been training; let's hope it doesn't have to come to that-"

Chou's scream pierced the air and suddenly the night had taken a turn for the worse.

I spun around on the balls of my feet, hands clenching into fists and scanned the area for the hollow. Adachi did the same, except a lot clumsier. Both Chou and Kazu were on the ground; they had fainted from the spiritual pressure. And standing over them was a man with dead, black eyes and grey skin. He was bald with a strange bone like ornament on his left cheekbone. He was an _arrancar_, of course, but what really made my stomach churn was the similarity of the clothing he wore to Aizen's. I had to take a deep breath to steel myself against the painful memories that threatened to break loose. I clenched my fists tighter but despite my resolve I felt myself begin to tremble and my stomach quaked with dread.

Adachi brushed past me and broke me out of my trance. He rushed at the hollow with a short dagger brandished in his hand. What the hell; where had he gotten a dagger from?

"Adachi, you idiot!" I shouted, "That thing can kill us in the blink of an eye!"

He ignored me and swiped at the _arrancar's_ middle. The creature just raised an eyebrow and flicked his arm. Adachi was sent flying into a wall seven feet away. I swallowed; there was no way I could take this one on. I was unarmed and the _kido_ spells I had learnt were only defensive.

_ A little help here would be nice... _I muttered to Toushiro

He took a deep breath as if he had been mentally contemplating something. _Okay, I'll take over. But, Hyōka, if you sense something wrong – even the slightest thing – I want you to pull me back immediately. _

_What do you mean?_

_No time to explain. Let's go. _

The instant I felt him take control over my body I knew that this would not go over well. He took control and suddenly I felt like my wrists and ankles were constrained in steel manacles.

_Toushiro-_

"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and Temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws! _Hadō _number thirty-three; _Sōkatsui_!"

As soon as he finished the _kidō_ spell I felt as though someone had stabbed my skull with a hot knife.

_Toushiro! Something's wrong-_

I cut myself off when I saw my breath begin to form white clouds in front of my face and I suddenly felt cold; freezing actually. Then it was if someone had put my brain into a sealed cage. There was no sound. I couldn't think. I could barely even feel anything except for hunger. I was hungry and I wanted to eat. I needed to find something to eat.

I looked around. There was food right in front of me, but no, I wouldn't be able to kill this one. It was too strong. It would be best to run away from this one and leave it alone. I glanced around once more and sniffed the air. I could smell three more different scents. Two were very weak, hardly satisfying at all. They wouldn't be worth my time to kill. The third smelled better. It would definitely make a good meal.

I turned in the direction of the nicer scent. It wasn't even far away. As I came closer I saw it was just lying there. Not dead, but not moving. I smiled and licked my lips. This was going to be a very easy kill. I slowly crept up to it and drew my arm back to dive in for the kill. I could taste the meat and feel it sliding down my throat. I could feel the satisfaction the energy would give me. My hands were inches from its throat. My mouth was watering; I could feel a drop of saliva slide down my chin. Then there was a sharp pain in my stomach. I tilted my head to the side and glanced down. There was a bright, blue arrow sticking out from my side. I slowly reached down and grasped it. It hurt; I didn't like this feeling. I wanted it to stop. I pulled out the arrow with a quick yank but now it hurt even more. I growled; I wanted this feeling to go away. I stumbled backwards holding my stomach and sniffed the air again. There was a new scent. This one was strong and dangerous. A low growl escaped my throat and I backed away further. I needed to get out of here.

I turned around and took two steps before another arrow landed in the ground centimeters from my right foot. I froze.

"You're not going anywhere," a voice spoke.

I turned around and snarled at a man dressed in a white cape.

"You're a hollow... hmmm who would have thought. What do you want to do about this, Ichigo?"

Another man came into view. This one smelt even stronger. I took a step back, ready to run away.

"... I'm going to _kill _him."

That's it. I sprang. I could not let those two get me. They were dangerous and they could kill me.

"Oh no you don't, you little shit!"

I felt a hand wrap around my neck and I was slammed into the ground.

"What the HELL, HYŌKA? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

I scrabbled against the hand at my neck and snarled at the man on top of me.

"You little bastard! I'm going to freaking kill you for hiding this from us!"

He pulled back his fist. I scrabbled harder and sunk my nails into his hand. But it was no use. I saw stars and everything went black for a moment. I let out a pained howl then it happened again. And again. And again. And again. And then I felt nothing.

...

My head was pounding when I came to. It felt as though someone was slamming the inside of my skull with an iron mallet. But despite my throbbing cranium I silently took inventory of my body. My stomach was on fire, my back was sore and tender, I think the stitches in my leg had opened up again and the entire right side of my face felt swollen; I think my jaw was broken. Overall, I felt like shit. I groaned and became aware that someone was talking. It sounded more like a truck driving on gravel than a human voice. Slowly I blinked and tried to ignore the light that almost blinded me. My head pounded even harder in protest and I wanted to throw up. I actually convulsed but the pain in my stomach prevented me from doing much more than moaning in pain and I felt a few tears prickle my eyes.

"He's awake?" The voices began to get more distinguishable. As sad as it was to say I think crying a bit did relieve some of my pain.

"Is it the... hollow?"

"I don't think so. Look he's crying."

I felt a soft hand touch my good cheek and Mikami's blurry face came into view.

"Shhh, it's okay. It's okay." she whispered calmly, "We're going to heal you soon. It'll be better in a minute."

"Stop babying him." I recognised Ichigo's voice, "It's his own damn fault that he's in this state."

Mikami's head turned so fast to glare at the ginger-haired man that _I _felt the whip lash.

"His fault? You're the one that beat him up!" her voice was strained.

"If he had told us about the hollow none of this would have happened!" Ichigo yelled back; his voice was pure venom.

"Hey you guys stop shouting," Teito attempted to pacify everyone. He was ignored of course.

"I have half a mind to beat him up again for doing this!" Ichigo continued.

"You animal."

"Animal, me? That's rich considering that _he_ was going to kill and eat one of his best friends and I was the one that stopped him!"

"Hey guys we really don't need-"

"You still beat a thirteen-year-old boy to a bloody pulp!"

"Don't waste your breath, Teito," was that Ishida? "They won't listen regardless."

"Stop defending him! The only one who's at fault is him! How can your brother be so stupid as to think that he can take on an inner-hollow by himself? I – we keep on offering our help to him but what good does it do when he ignores each and every one of us and nearly gets himself killed? Multiple times!"

Mikami was speechless. And if I had been talking I would have been too. I craned my neck to look at the fuming doctor. His brown eyes were aflame and his jaw was tensed as he ground he teeth together.

"I seriously don't understand how someone so smart can be so stupid."

I blinked a few times before I struggled to sit up. Mikami growled softly and pushed me back down.

"You shouldn't be moving; not with that head injury."

Regardless, I turned my head so I could see Ichigo better and once the stars and bright lights had faded I took a deep breath and tried not to wince.

"Sorry," it came out sounding like Arabic and it effing hurt to move my jaw in any way.

"Sorry?" he snarled and took a few steps closer to me so that he was standing menacingly over me, "You don't know what the word means. You don't-"

"Ichigo, I think you should go upstairs for a while." Ishida cut him off with a hand on his shoulder. "I know you're angry but we kind of need him alive for what's to come next."

Growling, Ichigo shoved Ishida's hand from his shoulder and stomped over to the ladder leading from Kisuke's basement/training room to the rest of the house. He didn't even climb; he _shunpo'ed_ up.

I groaned mentally. Ichigo was never going to forgive me.

...

"Sorry we took so long." Kisuke sang and hopped over to me.

I had been drifting in and out of consciousness until Kisuke had leapt down the ladder. Mikami had sat dutifully by my side. I think Teito had been pacing in circles and I couldn't care less what Ishida had been doing. I blinked up at the blond man; fighting to stay awake.

"Tessai, do you want to take this one? I have to make preparations for the transformation."

"Yes, sir." I hadn't even noticed that Tessai had come in with Kisuke.

Soon I was engulfed in a green light and almost instantly I felt the swelling in my face recede. My jaw clicked back into place and the burning in my stomach faded into nothing. I also felt the muscle and skin on my leg stitch itself back together. In a matter of minutes I was left feeling as good as new, albeit a bit tired. I sat up when Tessai took a step back.

"Thank you," I muttered rubbing my lower back.

He nodded then marched over to Kisuke, who was doing heavens alone know what a little way off. Mikami looked down at me and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. I wrinkled my nose and she rolled her eyes.

"So... is there a reason why you're not mad at me?" I asked apprehensively.

She glanced back at Teito. "Ichigo was furious enough for all of us. Besides, I don't even know what you did yet. The lecture will be coming, don't worry about that."

"Great..." I sighed shaking my head; this was going to be a fun afternoon.

Moments later Yoruichi tumbled down the ladder with a huge, squirming bundle thrown over her left shoulder.

"Oh quiet down, Ichigo, we all know you're pissed, but you need to be here for this." She was shouting at the bundle.

Wait... was that Ichigo she had hog-tied in a... bed sheet? I would have chuckled if she had not dumped him on the ground and our eyes met. He sent me a death glare so strong I almost thought my face would have caught aflame. I immediately looked away and felt pungent shame rise up from the pit of my stomach.

"Kisuke, we're all here. Let's start this thing already," Yoruichi called out impatiently.

"Yeah, give me a minute."

"What are you even doing over there?"

"Preparations."

"For what?"

"I think you know what, my dear."

Yoruichi blinked then looked from me to Kisuke a frown growing on her face. "So soon?"

"We don't have a choice. But anyway, right now we need to explain what's going on so let's get to it." he flipped his fan out and skipped over to sit down in front of me. "So, when were you going to tell me about your little problem?"

I hung my head, "I was going to... I just didn't know how to bring it up-"

"That's no excuse, Hyōka," Ichigo growled, "Do you know how much danger you put yourself in?"

Kisuke raised an eyebrow. "How long did it take you to ask Shinji for help again, Ichigo? I can't quite recall."

Ichigo sneered at Kisuke, "That was different-"

"Oh, how? You were in the exact situation Hyōka is in now. So, I suggest you get off your high horse and help us to work this out."

Ichigo ground his teeth together and shifted his glare from Kisuke to a spot off in the distance.

I turned to Kisuke, "What do you mean the same situation as me?"

"Ichigo's a _visored_ as well."

"What?" my eyes widened and I turned towards the orange-haired man. He would not meet my gaze, however.

Mikami and Teito exchanged a worried glance, "_Visored, _what's that?" Teito asked.

"A _visored_ is a... _shinigami_-hollow hybrid, basically." Kisuke sighed.

Teito blinked then turned towards me, "So that means that both Hyōka and Ichigo are part hollow. How the hell does that happen?

"A _visored_ is created when the line between _shinigami_ and hollow is erased through the use of the _hogyoku_. They don't occur naturally and have only been created through experiments."

"So did Aizen... to Hyōka..."

Kisuke turned to me, "I think you should explain this one."

I took a deep breath and looked around the room. Everyone was staring at me like I was an animal on display at the zoo.

"Go on," Kisuke urged.

"I... well... it... um," I paused, not quite sure how to start. "I don't know how to... begin."

Kisuke nodded, "Tell us how you first found out."

I took another breath, "Aizen. He- he told me that I was a new breed of _visored_ of some sort, I think."

"He knew all along?" Uryuu asked his eyes widening a fraction, "That would explain a lot. Did he tell you how this came to be? Because as far as I'm concerned you're still human and it's impossible for a human to be part hollow."

I chewed my bottom lip, "Remember when I said that Toushiro is basically living in my head?"

They nodded and more than a few eyebrows were raised.

"Well, he's a hollow..." I paused and waited for the explosion.

"What?" Ichigo's voice was sharp enough to cut. "Toushiro is a hollow? Why didn't you tell us when we spoke about this the first time?"

I hung my head, "It wasn't that bad then..." I quickly checked up on Toushiro; he was out cold, unsurprisingly.

"What. Do. You. Mean."

"He's not a hollow all the time. It only comes out when I'm tired or using too much _reiatsu_. I thought I could take care of it. It wasn't that much of a problem until now."

A simultaneous blink went around the room.

"So your training has been making the hollow stronger..." Kisuke sighed. "I was afraid of this."

Mikami opened her mouth but was silenced by a hand held up by Teito. She looked at him with a slight frown.

"What do you mean you were afraid of this? You talk as if you knew what was going on from the start. In fact, you're acting way too calm about this for my liking. Now you better be wearing that stupid, smug grin, Urahara, because you know how to fix this or I am going to hurt you." Teito silenced the entire room.

"I did know-"

"And you let this go on for so long!" Ichigo exploded. He jumped up and went to grab Kisuke by the front of his cloak. "What is wrong with you? Did you not see what it was doing to him? What kind of sick bastard are you?"

I don't know where the sudden courage came from but I grabbed Ichigo by the back of his _kosode_ and yanked him down. He was obviously caught off guard because he tumbled to the ground. He looked up at me in pure shock for a minute before a scowl took over his face.

"Ichigo calm down," I growled, "I think we all want to know what's going on and right now Urahara is the only one with the answers. I don't care how angry you are; just shut the hell up for a second."

The red-head stared at me in disbelief. He blinked a few times and his jaw slowly dropped. "You little-"

"He's right, Kurosaki."Uryuu sighed, "All of this antagonism will not get us anywhere today. Now please, Kisuke, continue."

"Yes, well, when we retrieved Hyōka back from _Hueco Mundo_ and were in the middle of performing the healing _kidō_ I noticed faint tinges of hollow-like _reiatsu_ mixed in with his own. So I took a few samples to investigate, and low and behold the results showed that he was a _visored._"

I frowned; somehow knowing that Kisuke had taken samples of my _reiatsu_ without my consent was rather unnerving. It made me feel like I was some sort of lab rat.

"That was a really condensed version," Uryuu muttered, "I think we're all entitled to know the whole thing."

"Point taken. Okay, I discovered that hollow _reiatsu_ was indeed mixed in with Hyōka's but not to the magnitude in which a true _visored's_ would be. Which lead me to believe that during Hitsugaya's reincarnation somehow a strain of _hollowfication_ took place. Since humans cannot turn into hollows before death it was the only other explanation. Afterwards, I kept close tabs on his _reiatsu_ and noticed that the hollow part would occasionally flare – never to the point of taking over, so I deemed it would be safe to see how things would turn out. Seeing as I've never come across a human-_visored_ hybrid I wanted to observe before I decide to interfere."

"But now that we know the hollow isn't benign what are we going to do?" Uryuu asked.

"He has to learn to control it – like how you did, Ichigo."

Ichigo's eye widened, "Do you think he can handle it?"

I shot him a nasty look. "Will you people stop talking as if I'm not in the room? Of course I can handle-"

"In his current form, no." Kisuke cut me off.

"Current form?" the question came from Teito.

"I mean as a human. The only weapon that spiritually aware humans have is their _reiatsu_. Hyōka can't use this against the hollow because he leeches off of it. So in a sense he's made from _reiatsu_ so it cannot be used against him."

"So, what are we going to do? If he can't fight it..."

"I didn't say that he couldn't at all; I said just not in his current state."

"You better not be getting at what I think you are." Ichigo growled.

"I'm with Ichigo on this one." Uryuu sighed. "He's too young for all of this. I'm not sure he can handle it."

"Wait up," Mikami snapped, she had been surprisingly quiet through all of this; it was just a matter of time before she let hell loose. "Can handle what?"

"We don't have any other choice. If he remains like this the hollow could very well take over his soul. We need-"

"We need to change him into a _shinigami_." Yoruichi cut him off with a smirk.

"Way to steal my thunder," The blond muttered.

"Wait, isn't that what he's training for in the first place?" Teito asked, grimacing.

"Yes, we've been putting him through the motions of the _shinigami_ training program but he won't actually be a _shinigami_."

"I don't follow... again."

"Okay, for one, _shinigami_ are sprits; we don't have corporal bodies. And secondly – it would have come to this anyway – but in order to materialise or even obtain his _zanpakuto_ he can't be human."

"Why?" I asked.

"Let's just say that having a physical body puts severe limitations on spiritual power. It would be like trying to do gymnastics in a bathroom stall."

"So how are you going to 'turn' him into a _shinigami'_?" Makami asked with narrowed eyes.

"Sha-"

"Shattered Soul Shaft," Yoruichi cut him off again.

"Twice in a row, Yoruichi? That hurts."

"What's that-"

"No." Ichigo barked. "You're crazy; I'm not letting you do that to him."

Kisuke sighed, "It's the only way we can stop the hollow from taking over. And it will unless he's able to fight back."

"There has to be some other way."

"Nope."

"What are you two blabbing on about!" I exclaimed, "What is this shattered soul shaft?"

"And why are you so opposed to it?" Mikami added with a frown. "It sounds dangerous-"

"It is!" Ichigo exclaimed leaping to his feet. "This crazy bastard wants to kill him so that he can become a _shinigami_!"

"What?" Mikami's voice was pure venom. Her eyes flashed dangerously as she looked from Ichigo to Kisuke.

"Well, in essence, yes, but he won't actually be dead..." Kisuke said scratching the back of his neck.

My mind came screeching to a halt. He wanted to... kill me? And it wasn't a threat, he actually wanted to... I blinked and looked slowly around the room. Mikami was fuming, as was Ichigo. Teito looked like he just watched someone get hit by a bus. The only calm ones were Uryuu, Yoruichi and Kisuke.

"I think somebody needs to explain exactly what the Shattered Soul Shaft is before these three die of a heart attack." Uryuu sighed.

"It's craziness, which Hyōka will not be taking part in." Ichigo said through a clenched jaw.

"It's a process by which a soul can be changed into a _shinigami_," Kisuke supplied.

"But we gather that it's extremely dangerous?" Teito growled.

"Well... he'll be closely supervised."

"How dangerous?" Mikami snapped

"He has a twenty percent chance of survival; fifteen if you want to get into the specifics."

Mikami's eyes nearly bugled out of her head. And my stomach started to quake.

"There's no way in hell I'm going to let him go through that!"

I swallowed. The cards were stacked against me. "And what are the odds that my inner-hollow will take over."

"98-2; not in your favour."

That fifteen percent suddenly started to look pretty good. "I think I should do it."

"What?!" Mikami and Ichigo exclaimed in unison.

I glanced at them. "Well its better than sitting around waiting; at least this way I can fight back."

"No," Mikami growled, folding her arms across her chest.

"No?"

"No; I'm not letting you-"

I took a deep breath, "Well I don't care if you're going to let me or not."

"Excuse me?"

"I thought you had given up trying to control my life."

She raised an eyebrow, "Did you forget who you're speaking to?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Here we go again," Teito sighed, "Stop this you two. Mikami, Hyōka has a point. He has better odds if Kisuke does that soul shattering thing. Neither seem desirable but this one's more reasonable."

She turned her death gaze towards him. "I don't like this."

"Me neither." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Who did you piss off in your past life to deserve this, Koko-chan?"

I shrugged and glanced over to Ichigo. The red-head was glaring at nothing. He caught me staring at him and his scowl intensified. "I'm not letting you put him through that, Kisuke. There's no way in hell."

"Should we put it to a vote then?"

"Goddamnit, Kisuke, when will you get it? This isn't one of your little experiments! You're just as bad as Aizen; playing with people like this!"

I grit my teeth together. Here we go again, everyone always knew what was best for me didn't they? I was sick and tired of people deciding things for me.

"That's it!" I yelled as I stood up, "You people need to stop! I'm not made of glass so stop treating me like I'm going to break! I'm going to do this Shattered Soul Shaft thing and you," I glared at Ichigo, "or you," then Mikami, "Can't do anything to stop me."

"Hyōka-" Mikami began with a growl.

"I don't know if the situation is heavy enough for you, Mikami, but I am going to _die_ if I don't do this!"

"There's also a high chance that you'll die if you do it!"

I balled my hands into fists. "God, why are you so stupid?"

I felt her hand on my cheek before I even saw her move. The slap silenced the room and everyone was staring at us two as if we were a prime time television show. I placed a hand on my stinging cheek in shock. Mikami had never laid a hand on me before - well excluding the occasional spanking when I was little. I felt tears of embarrassment prickle my eyes.

"I'm trying to protect you," she said through a clenched jaw.

I took a deep breath to steady my voice, "I don't need, nor do I want, your protection."

With that I turned away from her and stormed away from the group.

"Hyōka! Get back here this instant!"

I flipped her off.

* * *

**So... yes I'm making him go through the shattered soul shaft. He really is following in Ichigo's footsteps, huh? But as far as I know that's the only way, a human soul can become a shinigami... and well Hyoka is in the same situtation Ichigo was, so it makes sense in my head.**

**Also, a few of you have been asking questions about Toushiro. Yes he is a hollow but a strange breed of one. He can control his hollow tendencies much better than normal inner hollows, and I'm taking much artistic leeway with this for the sake of this story. If anyone is still confused... then I've failed as a writer j/k don't hesitate to pm me to clarify anything. **

**Drop a line or two on your way out, please :) **

**- Mymomomo**


	31. Chapter 31

**Hi everyone! I'm back for a bit now that summer is here. Hopefully the chapter rollout will but a bit quicker. **

**Hope you guys enjoy this one :) **

* * *

I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm myself down. I had walked a considerable way away from the others; I could barely make out their shapes in the distance. Good, I didn't want to talk to anyone now anyway; the further I got the better. I walked a little bit more and then threw myself to the ground behind a sizeable boulder, ignoring the shooting pain when I landed on my knees.

This afternoon had presented me with a whole new set of problems. And right now the gravity of it all was starting to get to me. I was going to die. That sounded so… wrong. I was thirteen, damnit, barely into my teenage years, still in middle-school. I haven't even experienced life yet; I've never left Japan, gone scuba diving, or mountain biking. I've never seen a silver-backed mountain gorilla, gone snowboarding, or learnt a second language. I haven't even fallen in love yet. I blinked, not surprised to feel a few teardrops fall down my face. I was not ready for this – Mikami was right. I didn't want to die; there were so many things I had yet to do. And what about Kazu, Chou and Adachi? I didn't want to leave them. I clenched my jaw against the tremors that were building up in my chest and squeezed my eyes shut. Things were becoming way beyond my control and I did not like it one bit.

…

I wasn't sure how long I had been sitting there crying, but it was long enough to feel utterly exhausted. My eyes were swollen and felt raw. I'm pretty sure my tears had burnt tracks into my cheeks. My throat was hurting from all the screaming and bawling and my knuckles were bleeding from where I punched the ground and bit them to keep from crying out loud. And all of that was just physical. I didn't even want to think about my mental state right now. I had a few panic attacks during that fit and I was trying not to concentrate on what happened that afternoon. I still didn't want to move from this spot. I didn't want to confront anyone and I certainly didn't want to uncurl from my ball behind this rock. I was actually surprised that everyone had left me alone for this long-

_Alone? You're not alone._

I jumped a mile, limbs flinging in each and every direction possible. My worst nightmare sat right in front of me grinning like a madman. It was only then that I took into account the darkened plain of ice surrounding me.

The hollow cackled, _That was fun; we should do it again sometime. _

I swallowed, and licked my suddenly dry lips. _Never._

He raised a colourless eyebrow. _Never? That's funny. And who's to stop me? Your little crying ass over here? I don't think so. You're petrified of me; look!_

He was suddenly inches from my face. I scrambled backwards with a loud, shaky gasp and a poorly hidden scream. He sat back on his heels laughing.

_You're inches from breaking; I can feel it. And when that happens you'll be all mine!_

I glared at him. _W-why the hell do you want my body so badly? What could an animal like you possibly want with a human body?_

He looked over at me with unbridled disgust, _Or I could just kill you now…_

I gasped and scrambled backwards again. I felt him move before it even happened and spun around to get to my feet and hightail it out of there as fast as I possibly could. He meant it this time; I knew it.

_Why bother running? I'll just catch you all the same._

It felt like a lead rock had been thrown at my back. I tumbled forward and icy fingers of steel were wrapped around my neck. I was flipped onto my back and forced to stare up into his deranged, golden eyes.

I clutched his arms in a feeble attempt to stop his from strangling me. _Toushiro! Snap out of it!_

A tiny frown appeared on the hollow's face but he began to apply pressure to my neck all the same.

_No! Hyourinmaru, help! Where are you? Help! Toushiro! Stop it! Stop! STOP! TOUSHIRO!_

His hands were suddenly removed from my neck as if I was made from hot coals. I blinked and found myself staring into Toushiro's horror-stricken eyes. He stumbled back and fell over on his butt.

_T-Toushiro…_

_Stay away from me!_

_T-_

_Goddamnit, Hyōka, GET OUT NOW!_

He suddenly hunched over and clutched at his head. Seconds later he was convulsing and trembling violently. I ran to him but was stopped by a deafening cracking noise coming from the sky. I glanced upwards. There was a hairline crack right above Toushiro; white light shone through as if the black sky was a glass dome. Then there was a loud bang, a raucous cracking noise, and tiny streams of light spiderweb'ed along the sky. Suddenly, light poured down on me and the darkness dissipated into thin air. My heart was pounding in trepidation; what the hell was going on? But it all became clear when I heard a familiar roar and an enormous dragon swooped down and curled around Toushiro.

I wasted no time in running over to them and climbing over Hyourinmaru to get to the fallen _shinigami. _The dragon was rumbling disconcertingly and I could feel tension rolling off him in waves. I glanced up at him with a frown and he just nudged me gently with his snout as if to say don't worry about it. I patted him a few times on his nose before I scrambled over to Toushiro. He was curled up in a ball against Hyourinmaru's ribs. I reached over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He took a while to respond and slowly raised his head to look at me with tired eyes.

_I thought I told you to leave?_

I rolled my eyes,_ Sorry, that wasn't going to happen. You… you managed to fight him off when I called your name. How?_

He sighed shakily; I could still feel him trembling slightly. _I don't know; I just came back to my senses. I _ – he cut himself off and closed his eyes for a second.

_So this means you can control him right? _

He blinked and turned away from me. _Hyōka, the reason why I wanted you to go to Kisuke so desperately was, not only for your safety but, because I am a…. hollow. _

I blinked and cocked my head. _Yeah, we know that, and you wanted to ask if you could control him-_

_There is no him, Hyōka, it's me._

_What? _

_You just saw it for yourself. You felt it last night; that's what it feels like for me; suddenly losing control over everything. _ He paused and took a deep breath, _I am the hollow, I don't turn into one; I'm one all the time._

_What, but now you're normal? I don't understand; you're two different people…_

_I don't understand either. One minute I'm fine then the next I'm angry, hungry and… want to kill everyone, including you. The impulses have been getting stronger lately and I really don't know why. _

I didn't mean to recoil from him but I did. _Wait, so you're telling me that that crazy, deranged thing is actually you? You know what you're doing and you're perfectly conscious when this happens? _Why didn't you say anything?

_You'd be afraid of me. You'd have greater morale if you thought that it was both you and me fighting against a common enemy- _

_What? That's a load of bull, Toushiro. I'd have been just as freaked out either way! And you got mad at me for hesitating to tell Kisuke about this? You're keeping secrets from me in my own mind! That's sick- _

_I'm sorry for trying to make this situation a little more comfortable for you, then!_

_Not you too! I don't want comfort! I can handle this! All I want from you, Toushiro, is to trust that I can handle myself in these kinds of situations. I don't need to be coddled and don't understand why the hell everyone thinks I do!_

He blinked a few times then looked away from me. _I… I wasn't trying to coddle you, Hyōka, believe me. I was… scared… for myself, for us; I don't want to be a hollow. I don't want to be the enemy; I _– his voice cracked and he hung his head and I could tell that he was crying.

I paused. This was a trying time for both of us. I really was stupid if I thought that Toushiro was unaffected by all of this. He just seemed so strong, knowledgeable and in control that I somehow believed that he was like a god, sent to help me through all of this. I hadn't even realised that he had his own demons to battle. I mean he was the one who had actually been killed by Aizen and reincarnated as an orphaned boy with anxiety. If that didn't mess anyone up I don't know what would.

I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him towards me. He didn't resist but his sobs became audible. It actually tore me apart to see this and know that there was nothing I could do to help.

...

Toushiro had fallen asleep in my lap. I was leaning against Hyourinmaru's side and looking up at the sky. His great chest rose and fell with each deep breath and I found my breathing changing to match his.

_Did you know about this?_ I asked him at length.

He rumbled in affirmative. I sighed and shook my head.

_This feels weird; I'm out of the loop even in my own head... why didn't either of you say anything? _

The dragon sighed.

_I really need to learn how to understand you. But if Toushiro's the hollow then that means deep down inside he really wants to... kill me._

I heard snow crunch as Hyourinmaru shook his head.

_But that's what the hollow wants; he told me countless times._

He snorted.

_Yeah, I have a hard time believing that Toushiro wants me dead too. I can understand him wanting Aizen dead, since he's the one who killed him and caused all of this. Wait, maybe that's why the hollow wants to take over; he wants to get back at Aizen but he knew I couldn't stand up to him so he wants to take things into his own hands._

I felt the dragon crane his neck around to look at me and he managed to pull off a raised eyebrow expression – even though he didn't have eyebrows.

_You've got to admit it makes sense. Toushiro doesn't seem to completely hate me and if he did want me out of the picture that is a plausible explanation. _

He seemed to consider it and agreed after a while. He plopped his head back into the snow with a soft rumble.

_You've never asked him about this?_

He shook his head, no.

_Really, I would think it would be on a need-to-know basis..._

He... shrugged – it was the only way I could describe his shoulder movements.

_He didn't want to talk about it did he?_

No.

_That idiot, he gives me grief for trying to take care of my problems myself and the goes does the same thing. He's a damn Hypocrite._

He chuckled. I looked down at the sleeping _shinigami_ in my lap and sighed.

_I can see why you like his so much though, even if he's a hollow. He's damn strong if he can control his instincts to this extent._

I felt him smile – it must have been a huge smile.

_Makes me wonder if I'll ever get to his level..._

Hyourinmaru brought his head around again and placed the tip of his snout to my forehead, _You will. _

I jerked back in surprise and so did he. Both of our eyes widened and we stared at each other in shock.

_Did you just..._

He looked like he was going to say something else but all that came out was a soft rumble. He cut it off and let out a frustrated grunt. I pulled my lips into a half smile and reached up to stroke his muzzle.

_I'll get it eventually; don't worry, big guy. _

...

"This is the longest I've ever seen someone go into _jinzen_."

"It's only been... holy crap six hours! Are you sure the kid's okay?"

"He's fine, don't worry about it."

Voices floated back to me and I groaned. Could these people ever let me sleep in peace? I brought a hand up and rubbed my face. I didn't feel as bad as before but I was still a far cry from normal.

"Will you guys shut up? Do you have to be so loud all the time? Geez." I spat as I sat up.

"Yup he's fine." Ichigo deadpanned, rolling his eyes.

I had been lying down on a folded up blanket using Teito's legs a pillow. He offered me a small smile as I looked around.

"How're you feeling Koko-chan?" he asked softly.

"Terrible,"

"Well that sucks, 'cause we're going to be preparing for the Shattered Soul Shaft today." Kisuke sang.

I frowned, "Preparations? But Mikami?"

"We explained exactly what we are going to do to you. She doesn't agree with it one hundred percent but she's willing to go along with it for your safety if anything else."

"Okay," I sat up a little bit straighter hopping that I didn't come off as scared as I felt. "So how is this thing supposed to help me to control the hollow?"

"It's not going to help you to control it per say, but it will give you the grounds to be able to fight back. To control the hollow you're going to have to go through a different kind of training as a _visored_."

I stared at him, "I'm not in the mood for your ring-arounds Urahara. You told me a couple hours ago that this thing gives me a twenty percent chance of surviving, so you better explain to me exactly what is going to go down." I pretended not to notice the three adults sending each other looks.

He sighed, "Fair enough. So the plan is to separate your soul from your body; the Shattered Soul Shaft is designed to turn you into a _shinigami_."

"And why is it so dangerous?"

He took a deep breath, "After we separate your body from your soul and you learn how to move about as a spirit we have to break your soul chain..."

"Hmm?" Teito hummed and I felt my throat constrict slightly.

I turned to him, "The soul chain is what connects your soul to your body; it only breaks when you die..." Teito took a deep breath and nodded. I turned back to Kisuke, "I won't be able to return to my body after this, will I?"

"Well, yes-"

"But?"

"You're not going to be one hundred percent whole again. There is going to be a separation, albeit a very minute one, between your body and your soul."

I nodded and tried to ignore the sudden cold prickly feeling in my hands and feet. "Then what?"

"We're going to speed up the 'encroachment' process, throw you in a hole, and hope that you'll be able to unlock your _shinigami_ powers and climb out in seventy-two hours."

"If I don't?" I almost didn't want to ask.

"You'll turn into a hollow and we'll be forced to kill you on sight."

I swallowed but my throat was too dry for that to offer any relief. I felt my heart speed up and the familiar tingle down my spine that signaled that I was about to have a panic attack.

Teito placed a hand on my back and began to rub large circles between my shoulder blades. Ichigo took one of my hands in his and let a smidgen of his _reiatsu_ trickle out to help me calm down.

"Hyōka-" Teito began but I cut him off with a raised palm.

"When do we start? The sooner we get this over with the better."

Kisuke snapped open his fan and covered his mouth and got up to leave. "We can begin this evening; Tessai is just finishing up some _kido_. Ichigo, I'm going to need your help setting up some final touches."

Ichigo grit his teeth but nodded and followed Kisuke.

"Hyōka, don't you think you're rushing into this?" Teito asked softly. His hand was still on my shoulder.

"If I don't do it now, I'm going to make up excuses not to. I only have a 2 percent chance on my own, remember?"

He sighed. There was one huge different between me and my brother. Our eyes were the exact same shade of blue-green but he wore his emotions on his sleeve and I liked to keep mine bottled up. His eyes were filled with more sadness than I thought possible. It actually hurt me to look into his eyes at that moment. "I know," he blinked, and then all of a sudden I was pulled into his chest and his arms were wrapped around me. "You're going to beat the odds, okay? You have to give a speech at my wedding remember; I'm not letting you weasel out of this one."

I returned the hug for once, "I wouldn't forgive myself if I did." I paused, "Teito, if anything does happen-"

"It won't."

"But if it does, I want to tell you thanks, for everything. I know you didn't have to stick with me for all this time-"

"Stop it, Koko-chan, don't you dare say another word." He held me at arm's length, "You're going to survive this."

"Teito-"

"You're going to survive."

I blinked and his face became blurry. He brought me into a tight embrace again.

"I never would have left you or Mikami; the thought never even crossed my mind. From the moment I saw you – you were literally a pink, blotchy, bald, crying, little piece of human, born almost three weeks premature – I promised that I was going to take care of you for as long as I lived. So you better not make me break my promise."

I nodded against his chest, "I'm scared, though."

He hugged me tighter. "You're strong Koko-chan, you can do it."

I thought it was amusing how many people told me that I was strong when I felt the exact opposite.

...

"Let's get this over with," I sighed while cracking my knuckles. Suddenly the dry wasteland of the basement looked very ominous. It was just me, Kisuke, Yoruichi and Tessai in the basement. Ichigo had been driven back upstairs with Teito. Kisuke didn't want any distractions around me. They were both too emotional at the moment. Also, the only reason Mikami wasn't down here with me was because Tessai had knocked her out with a _kido_ spell because she had been working herself up into a fit a couple hours earlier. I would have liked to say goodbye to her – I felt Toushiro slap me on the head for phrasing it like that – but I didn't want her to worry even more. At least she could be calm while she was sleeping.

"As you wish." Kisuke nodded and swung his cane around his index finger for a moment before stopping it and pointing it at my forehead. I probably went cross-eyed from trying to look at it. "Now, remember; there is no turning back after this."

I nodded, "Just do it already."

He shrugged and hit me on the forehead with the end of his cane. I reeled backwards and fell into the dirt with a yelp. Dust rose up and I had to shut my eyes against the stinging particles. Something else was dropped in the dirt beside me and sent up another cloud of dust. I decided to wait until it settled before I started to yell at the shopkeeper.

"What the hell, Urahara? I thought you were-" my words died in my throat as I saw what was lying on the ground next to me.

It was... me. I was sprawled out on the ground my neck and arms bent at odd angles. My eyes were half-lidded and glazed over and my lips were parted ever so slightly. My breath caught in my throat and I tried to scramble backwards but it felt like I was submerged in a bowl of gelatin.

"What-"

"What happened?" Kisuke bent down. "You're now separated from your body – a regular plus soul if you will. And as a spirit you now have to learn to move about like one."

I blinked and stared at my body. I was still connected to it by the chain of fate, but boy did it feel weird.

"Now come on get up. We don't want to be here all night. The first segment of the Shattered Soul Shaft begins now. Your task is to fight Yoruichi. The lesson ends when either one of you can't move anymore."

"What-"I ended up coughing on my breath; it was even hard to breathe.

Yoruichi stepped forward, "You ready for this kid?"

I struggled to get to my feet. I had a feeling that this 'task' would end up in me dying for real. Yoruichi struck. A tiny part of me had hoped that she would go easy on me, seeing as how I could barely move, but the rest of me knew better. Yoruichi would go easy on an opponent when hell froze over. I threw myself to the ground before her kick made contact with my face. Well, it was more like my knees gave out but that sounds less cool. I rolled over and tried to get back up. My muscles shook but I was able to stand despite that. It was like I was wadding through water; my movements were incredibly sluggish. Yoruichi had waited for me to get up and now advanced on me again with a smile.

"Remember what I told you, Hyōka, don't leave yourself unguarded."

I hastily raised my arms and ducked as she swung another kick at my head. My only saving grace was that I was fairly comfortable with Yoruichi's fighting style. She favoured high kicks, her side kicks were death and she almost always followed up with a few punches. If I could avoid her attacks then maybe just maybe I could make it through this lesson.

It was a sound plan except for the fact that I forgot how unpredictable the dark-skinned woman could be sometimes. She switched to a judo-type stance and, forgoing her traditional style, threw a series of lightning speed punches at me. I leapt backwards. She would never tire out if I kept on dodging. I dodged again and as quickly as I could I switched to an offensive stance. She seemed taken aback but the smirk stayed firmly in place on her face. I threw a few punches but was forced back to the defensive after a short while. We continued like this for a long while; I never once gained the upper hand, but came millimeters away from striking her a couple times. But now I was tired and I could feel every inch of my body protesting against me. And in a reckless stint of desperation I ducked under her arm dodging her fist and swung at her with my arm. The punch went wild, of course, but the momentum of my movement had brought me inches from her torso and my elbow caught her in the chest. She stepped back instantly her hand over the place where I hit – her right boob, of course. I stumbled back, blushing.

"Oh god, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Good job, Hyōka." she said with a grin.

"Huh,"

"You passed lesson one."

I raised an eyebrow. "I thought we were going until I couldn't move? I only hit you once."

"You can move freely now can't you?"

"I..." I actually could. It didn't feel like I was swimming in jell-o anymore.

"That was the point of this lesson. And great job on being able to touch me. Mind you I was going easy."

I blinked and shook my head, "You two are insane."

"That may be so; but it worked didn't it?" Kisuke chimed in. "Time for lesson two. Tessai!"

In the time it took me to blink the giant man had come at me with an axe and cut my chain of fate in half. I stood there in shock. I was no longer connected to my body; by definition I was dead.

"Hyōka, I trust you know what's going to happen now," Kisuke knocked me out of my stupor.

I nodded, "If I don't unlock my powers as a _shinigami_ I turn into a hollow..."

He patted me on the shoulder, "You can do it, kiddo!"

The next thing I knew I was at the bottom of a giant hole; my arms were bound behind my back and my chain of fate was being eaten away at an alarming rate.

"You have seventy-two hours before you turn into a hollow!" Kisuke yelled down to me. "Please be successful, I would really hate to kill you."

With that he disappeared over the edge and, as if timed perfectly, a mind-numbing wave a pain crashed over me. I stumbled to the ground screaming. It felt as if someone was trying to rip out my heart. There was an intense burning coming from the centre of my chest as if the chain was being violently yanked out of me. It didn't last too long and soon I lay panting on the ground as the last bit of pain ebbed away. God, what was that? I fingered the chain and noticed that it was a few links shorter. I guess that was what 'encroachment' was. Great, I had seventy-two hours of this. I looked up at the sides of the hole; I better start trying to figure out a way to get out of here.

...

It was easier said than done. Even if I had the use of my hands there would be no way in heaven or hell that I would climb up that wall. Kisuke might have already signed my death certificate. Plus the encroachment was almost as painful as Aizen's torture had been. It came periodically and I couldn't even move. I wasn't too sure how much time I had spent but my chain was dangerously short now. I knew the key to unlocking my powers had something to do with Hyourinmaru; he was my _zanpakuto _after all.

I imagined myself on the plane of ice but when I opened my eyes I instantly knew that something was wrong. It was snowing rather heavily and there was a slight tremor under my feet, also, I was alone. Maybe the encroachment prevented Toushiro and Hyourinmaru from contacting me. I shrugged and began to wonder aimlessly in a random direction.

_Hyourinmaru?_ I called out, _Hyourinmaru, where are you? _

I sighed; where could the dragon have gotten to? I mean he lived in my head; there was nowhere for him to go to.

_ Hyourinmaru?_

There was a low rumble.

_Hyourinmaru! _

I spun around looking for the dragon but quickly realised that the noise wasn't coming from him. Tremors wracked the ground beneath my feet and in the distance there was a thick hazy, fog which was drawing closer by the second. I did not wait to find out what it was and took off in the opposite direction. As I ran I noticed the sky going darker and the trembling increasing. What the hell was going on? Maybe the encroachment was eating away at my inner world as well. I spared a glance over my shoulder. The fog was gaining on me and I could now see that it was just snow being thrown up into the air... actually it looked like that ground was collapsing in on itself. The rest of the plain of ice was just a giant chasm.

I willed my legs to go faster and cursed the fact that I had not learnt how to _shunpo_ yet. I could practically feel the winds trying to pull me back and every so often a piece of ice would slip from under my feet and cause my heart to lurch. All the while the rumbling had been increasing steadily to a deafening roar. I still had no idea what exactly was going on but I knew that if I fell into that chasm I was done for.

Yoruichi had always told me I was quick – for a human that is – but it felt as though I was moving at a turtle's pace right now. The ground to the left of me caved in with a grating crash and I could see cracks split open the rest of the ice around me. I jumped over one just as it expanded and turned a lump of ice into powder. My heart was beating at a rate to match the destruction of my inner world but I couldn't think of anything else other than to out run the obliteration hot on my tail.

The ground was moving; throwing me off balance. I was now scrambling on my hands and knees almost as much as I was running. Chunks of ice were thrown up into the air almost as if there was a stormy sea underneath it all – the land seemed to be moving. Not to mention the blizzard made it extremely hard to see. I could not stop running, even if a little part of me said that it was pointless there was no way I could outrun a natural disaster. I yelped as the ground under me tilted to the side and threw me over a crack. I hit a mass of ice with a thud only to be catapulted back a few feet. I scrambled to my feet in panic but was thrown backwards in a matter of seconds as the ground I was standing on crumbled into dust.

My voice caught in my throat and there was nothing I could do to stop myself from falling. My heart stopped and my breathing became erratic. All I could do was watch as chunks of ice the size of buildings rained down beside me and I felt the wind and snow try to rip my clothes from my body.

Then suddenly I coughed up a mouthful of blood. I felt lightheaded and my chest was on fire. I looked down and saw a sword sticking out of my chest; right above my heart. I traced my gaze along the blade to the person holding it; Aizen stared back at me with a smug grin on his face.

"You bastard-"

He cut me off with a short laugh, "You really should be thanking me, Hitsugaya-kun... Hyōka-chan; you're ten times stronger because of this."

He ripped the sword from my chest and I screamed.

"You should be turning into a hollow any minute now."

No! I began to fall. No. No no no no NO!

My chest was throbbing and pain radiated through the rest of my body. I was screaming, probably crying too. I could not die like this. Not now; not again! And I would NOT become a hollow.

"HYOURINMARU!"

Somehow I knew he would come this time, even if I didn't see him right away. I trusted him, both him and Toushiro.

All of a sudden I wasn't falling anymore and someone had my wrist in a death grip. Toushiro was leaning over the edge of a small protrusion of ice. A huge pillar of ice extended up into the clouds; I couldn't even see the top.

"What are you doing here?" I asked bewildered. Something was off with him; he was a couple shades paler than normal. Was he turning into a hollow?

"You finally let me help you." he hoisted me up so I could grab hold of the outcrop as well. There wasn't enough space to put much distance between us. So, the only thing I could do was keep my guard up. I had seen a hint of fangs when he had spoken. If he did turn on me I had to be ready.

He noticed this, of course, and looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "You need to trust me Hyōka. I know if we don't make it out of this alive you will turn into a full hollow. I want that just as much as you do; so, I'm going to help you as much as I possibly can."

"… You look like a hollow." I muttered, shaking my head.

He sighed and raised a hand to examine it. His nails had begun to form sharp points as well. "It's the encroachment process. I'm fighting off the hollow instincts as best as I can. If I feel them coming on I'm going to throw myself into that chasm. Okay?"

I was silent and for a second the only noise was the wind howling around us.

"Okay," I said at length. I really needed to believe that Toushiro would not hurt me. He had done more than enough to help me through all of this; the least I could do was trust that he wouldn't hurt me.

He grinned slightly, "Now come on; we need to get to the top," he jutted his chin skywards.

I swallowed, "And how are we supposed to do that?"

"Climb." He jumped upwards, sprung off the side of the pillar, did a flip, and caught another protrusion a few meters above me.

"I can't do that!" I yelled after him.

"Why not? It's your inner world; why can't you?"

I hesitated.

"You said you trusted me; I won't let you fall."

I took a deep breath. It was my inner world. This was all happening in my head; there was no plausible reason why I could not do what Toushiro had just done. So I took a deep breath, pushed off the ice and almost shouted in disbelief when I my hands managed to find a crack just big enough to suffice for a hand hold. I glanced up at Toushiro who was grinning at me.

"Let's go."

We both took off at the same time. I felt like I was in a super cool action movie or was a parkour or spider-man. We were both almost running up the side of a pillar made of ice at breakneck speed. The world around us was a blur. It was kind of like we were doing a dance; we had to scramble around each other to find cracks and outcrops to grab onto. Every minute we suddenly changed directions or spiraled around the pillar. We jumped over top the edge and landed on a smooth expanse of ice. This must have been all that was left of my inner world; a small circular patch of ice about four meters wide. Despite this, however, I felt exhilarated, like there was nothing that could bring me down right now. I had forgotten about Aizen and the burning in my chest; for the first time in my life I felt free.

"We're not done yet, Hyōka," Toushiro muttered.

"Hmm?"

"Look." he pointed downwards.

I glanced over the edge of the pillar to see that darkness was creeping up the sides and the ground below looked... different. We were standing on this tower in a desert of silver sand. I gasped and jumped back. Suddenly that euphoric feeling from before was gone and in its place was fear. I was afraid of heights again, I was afraid I was going to turn into a hollow, I was afraid of dying. Panic slowly began to rise in my chest and it was hard to breathe again.

"No, Hyōka stop that! You need to get out of this alive!"

I glanced up at him. He yanked me to my feet. I hadn't even realised that I had fallen down.

"Now you trust me, remember that. And I would rather die than harm you." He looked me directly in the eye when he said that.

"I – I k-know."

"Good. Remember it." With that he pushed me off the edge of the tower.

"Toushiro!"

If I had been connected to a heart monitor I think the line would have shown up flat because the individual bumps would have moulded into each other. Trust him? What the hell? I didn't believe in trust; not when the ground was getting closer each second. I closed my eyes and Toushiro's voice echoed in my head. _I would rather die than harm you_. Oddly, I believed him. He had a plan; this would all turn out for the better – it had to.

And then there was a roar. My breath caught in my throat.

"Hyourinmaru!"

The dragon literally appeared out of nowhere and swooped under me. I landed hard and probably fractured my shoulder. I also rolled a bit but stopped myself from falling off him by grabbing one of the spines on his back just in time. I hoisted myself back up and straddled his back.

"You came..."

_Of course I did, child._

"You can talk,"

_I've always been able to talk; you can listen now._

"Why? Why now?"

_You finally trust us fully. You trusted Toushiro when you two were climbing that tower and you trusted that you wouldn't die when you were falling. That was all you needed to do, believe in us without reservation. After all we are you; why shouldn't you trust yourself? _

That was it? Trust?

"So we're done here? But how do I get out of this hole?"

He chuckled, _We're not quite done yet, hatchling. We still have to take care of one more monster. _

I looked around. We were back in Karakura and in the distance was a man dressed in a white _kosode _and _hakama_ and with slicked back, brown hair. I felt my blood boil but at the same time...

"How the hell am I supposed to kill him?!"

_Use me; I am you're zanpakuto remember._

"Yeah but-"

_Don't you dare ask me how, hatchling; you know how._

O...kay. I took a deep breath. He was my _zanpakuto_, right. I took a deep breath. A sword, summon a sword, of course that was it. The embodiment of a _shinigami's _power was the _zanpakuto_. That's what Kisuke wanted me to do in the first place! So I did what came naturally. I reached over my shoulder and drew my _zanpakuto _from the sheath on my back.

The weight felt familiar. The cloth binding the hilt was like cool heaven against my palms. It felt as if I had been re-united with a long lost friend. A large grin broke out on my face and before I even knew it I was running at an unbelievable speed towards the man. I held out Hyourinmaru and with the skill of a learned samurai I jumped, sideswiped, and lopped off the bastard's head.

...

I blinked at the artificial sunlight from Kisuke's basement-slash-training ground. Had it always been this bright? I glanced around at the three adults in the room. Each of them looked somewhat flabbergasted. I then took inventory on myself. I was exhausted; hunched over on one knee, leaning against my sword, and holding a strange white mask in one hand.

"Congratulations, kid," Kisuke smiled ad came up to me, "You did it."

I nodded; too tired to do anything else.

Yoruichi came up to my other side. "You had us scared for a second there."

She patted my back. Each pat felt like she was causing me to sick an inch into the dirt. I dropped the sword and fell forward. I managed to break my fall with my hands and turned to glared at her. But she was no longer staring at me, neither was Kisuke in fact. They were both staring at the mask that I was still clutching in my left hand. I sat back on my knees and turned it over. It looked like it was made out of bone, but was smooth like porcelain and cool to the touch. It looked like a dragon, scarily similar to Hyourinmaru, with an intricate scale-like pattern carved all over. It even had a fringe and horns like Hyourinmaru did, but the eyes were slightly more slanted, the snout was elongated and more slender than his, and the horns curved backwards and were almost a foot long. Also, long, jagged, fangs protruded from the jaw. It was beautiful and almost delicate looking like it belonged in a museum, but there was something about it that unnerved me.

"Hyōka," Kisuke said and knelt down next to me, "I think you should get rid of that for now."

I glanced to him, "What is it?"

He paused, "Your hollow mask."

I gasped and dropped it in shock. It fell to the ground and shattered into a million pieces each one of which dissolved into the air. I turned back to Kisuke gapping like a fish.

"Don't worry; you can re-summon it any time you want."

I blinked.

"You're a _viosred,_ remember, you're part hollow. Yes, you would have a mask too. You were wearing it last night, but I don't think you would remember that. Anyway, we'll start the next part of your training now." He picked up the sword I had dropped earlier and held it out to me.

The sword was just a beautiful and delicate looking as the mask had been except its sharpened edge glinted dangerously. It was longer than the _katana_, which I had seen before, with a bronze cross guard in the shape of a four-pointed star. The hilt was wrapped with a light blue cloth and the polished steel of the blade looked icy cold.

I reached out for it and as soon as my hands touched the hilt a wave of cold air and fog exploded around me and all my senses slipped into darkness.

* * *

**So Hyoka is finally getting somewhere. Next is training with Hyourinmaru and getting his powers as a visored undercontrol :) **

**I'm really hopping that I can get this story done by the end of the year since we've now past the halfway point. Things may be kind of fast paced from here on out :) **

**And throw in a review if you're up for it**

**-Mymomomo**


	32. Chapter 32

**And I'm back with chapter 32... enjoy.**

* * *

"Hey, Hyōka, wake up." someone said while lightly slapping my cheeks.

I blinked and was instantly blinded by bright orange hair.

"Ugh, what do you want, Kurosaki?" I groaned and sat up. We were still in the training room, but it was just me, Ichigo and Kisuke.

"It's time to start the third part of your training," the red-head explained.

I rubbed my eyes; I still felt a little groggy. "Now?"

He chuckled, "Yes now; get up, lazy. The battle is in almost three months."

I sighed, "How does that work? Did you guys and Aizen get together and plan a date? 'Hmm, the fifteenth of May sounds good to me; are you guys free then?'"

Ichigo rolled his eyes, "The point is you have very little time to master Hyourinmaru."

"Fine," I huffed and got to my feet. "How long was I out for?"

"About two hours, maybe three." Kisuke interjected. "I'm afraid you used up too much energy at once. You need to remember the _reiatsu_ control lessons we started with. I shouldn't have to remind you of the basics now that you've progressed so far."

I nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Okay, it should only take you a few lessons to get used to fighting with Hyorinmaru. You've already covered the basics of _zanjutsu_ with me so all you have to do is familiarise yourself with Hyourinmaru," he pulled out my _zanpakuto_ from the folds of his robe – he had to have another dimension hidden in there – and handed it to me. Hyourinmaru was now encased in a dark blue sheath. "He's much longer and heavier than the _bokken_ you've been using."

I took the sword from him and held it up for inspection. He was right, of course, I hadn't noticed it before but Hyourinmaru was actually taller than I was. If I put his tip to the ground the hilt was a good twenty centimetres above my head. It was needless to say that I wouldn't be standing him upright unless I actually had to. This was definitely going to take a while to get used to.

"And then what happens? I know that we're not going to sit around for the rest of the three months with me playing with Hyourinmaru."

"We have to take you to the Soul Society to see Head-captain Yamamoto. After that we'll decide what is going to happen to you."

I didn't like the way he said that.

"So are you ready to get started?"

I nodded.

"Ichigo will be training you this time. You seem to click better with him than with me."

I frowned, "What do you mean?"

He waved his hand, "It's nothing important. Now, I just want you to get used to the feeling of the sword; Hyourinmaru is supposed to be an extension of your soul not just a weapon. Usually this task is to help the wielder discover his _zanpakuto's_ name, but since you already know that I only want you to familiarise yourself with the blade. Ichigo?"

He moved aside and the red-headed doctor stepped up. He reached over his shoulder and drew a massive _zanpakuto_. I had seen his sword before but it had never really clicked that it was his _zanpakuto_. It was much broader than Hyourinmaru and taller still. I briefly wondered if all _zanpakuto_ were this size.

"That's your _zanpakuto_?" I asked, "Looks like you're over-compensating for _something_."

He blushed slightly and sent me a dirty look. "Shut up and draw your weapon, already."

Grinning, I took hold of the hilt and pulled. The steel of the blade ran against the sheath with a sharp metallic sound and it glinted dangerously in the artificial light. And then suddenly I realised that I couldn't pull any more; I was stretching my arms as wide as they could go and Hyourinmaru wasn't even half-way drawn. I frowned; I don't think this was supposed to happen this way. Ichigo was looking at me expectantly with a small, amused grin forming on his face.

"Shorty-"

"Don't say it!" I yelled. Well, this was certainly embarrassing.

Hyourinmaru was rolling around in my head laughing. I scowled at him.

_This isn't funny._

He continued to laugh. I turned to Toushiro in exasperation.

The boy just shook his head slowly, _Hyourinmaru, stop it. _

Again the dragon paid him no heed.

_How am I supposed to do this? Is this some twisted way of telling me that I'm too young to fight?_

_No, it's just another problem to solve. That brain of yours isn't just for show is it?_

I huffed, _I don't even know where the sheath came from. When I blacked out it wasn't there._

_Your zanpakuto is simply a manifestation of your reiatsu and so is the sheath. I'm going to let you figure it out from there. _

I sighed. The sheath was part of my _reiatsu_... Kisuke had said something about me remembering to maintain control. If I could manifest something using my _reiatsu_ then I should be able to... un-manifest it, right? I glanced back at Ichigo who was still staring at me with a raised eyebrow. Kisuke was silently observing as well. I shrugged; it was worth a shot. I pushed Hyourinmaru all the way back into the sheath and concentrated on the smooth, deep, blue wood. It was made out of my _reiatsu_; I could sense my own _reiryoku_ around it. So, I took a deep breath and focused on drawing it back into my body. I drew Hyourinmaru from the sheath again; this time, however, I ran my left hand across the sheath. I watched as it dissolved into thin air as my palm touched it. When the last of the sheath had disappeared I held Hyourinmaru in a two handed grip and pointed him at Ichigo.

The doctor nodded in approval and swung his _zanpakuto_ to point at me as well. He was using a one-handed grip. I was impressed; the sword looked really heavy. I wouldn't have dared to use a one-hand grip on Hyourinmaru; he was much heavier than I had expected.

"Remember your stances and footwork," Kisuke called out right before Ichigo charged at me.

I jumped out of the way; these people really thought teaching by throwing me into the middle of things was the best way to go.

...

I collapsed. There was no other way to describe it. My legs stopped working, my knees gave way, and the rest of my body crumpled into the ground. I lay face down in the dirt; I didn't even care that I was inhaling mouthfuls of dust with each gasping breath. I felt like throwing up and my arms were on fire. I heard Ichigo sit down beside me and felt him pat my back.

"You did well, kid; Kisuke really out did himself on you."

I rolled over onto my back, "Don't tell him that; his head will get even more inflated."

Ichigo grinned, "Really though, you're gonna be a pretty strong fighter."

"Hello, reincarnation of a captain class _shinigami_ sitting right here," I jerked a thumb as myself. Fighting with Hyourinmaru had felt like I was re-living a long lost memory. It had only taken me a couple minutes to get used to his weight and length, after which he had been no heavier than a _bokken _and I felt something resonating between me and the sword. I had surprised myself after that and had been able to keep up with Ichigo for the most part. He had been going easy on me, though; I could tell.

"And then there's that," he said chuckling.

I took a few more deep breaths, "What's your _zanpakuto's_ name?"

"Zangetsu, why?"

"No reason; I just wanted to know. Um, Ichigo?"

He glanced at me from the corner of his eye, "Yeah?"

"Kisuke said you had an inner hollow as well,"

His demeanour took a complete change, "I do."

"How do you control it?"

He paused, "We'll get to that soon enough. We're trying to get someone here to help you train as a _visored_."

"What if he attacks before then?"

He sighed, "Just show him you aren't afraid of him."

"I am, though, and he can read my thoughts..."

He paused, "Well, that's why you're learning how to use Hyourinmaru, right?"

"I guess..."

He ruffled my hair, but only a month's worth of growth didn't give him much to ruffle. He scrunched up his nose. "Anyway, we should be heading back up now; Kisuke has something to talk to you about."

I nodded.

"I'll _shunpo _us up the ladder; it'll be faster that way." He picked me up and before I knew it we were standing in Kisuke's living room. I felt as though I hadn't been out of the basement for ages; I hadn't seen real sunlight in almost four days. It was streaming in through the open windows of the living room and told me that it was late afternoon so neither Mikami nor Teito would have been done work yet. Which reminded me -

"Why aren't you at work?" I asked Ichigo.

"Because I'm here helping you. Don't worry my dad is filling in for me; Mikami's not doing everything by herself."

"Good. I'm going to take a shower-"

"Oh wait, Hyōka,"

"Hmm?"

"You need to get back into your body."

Body? I looked down at myself for the first time realising that I was dressed in a black _kosode_ and _hakama_. Oh right; I was a spirit now.

Ichigo led me to the spare room. I froze as we entered the doorway because lying on the bed was my body – well me. I would never get used to seeing myself like this; it was really disconcerting, I mean I was by definition dead. That was not something I could easily overlook. I walked up to my body and held out a hand then I took a deep breath and touched my arm. There was a small jolt of electricity and the ground threw me off my feet. The world spun for a brief second before I found myself blinking up at the ceiling. I sat up slowly.

"That was weird."

"You'll get used to it." He said with a sigh, "Wait until we put a _gikongan_ in your body then you'll know what's weird.

...

Somehow I thought that becoming a _shinigami_ would have been a lot more elaborate. I mean here I was sitting down at Kisuke's table eating a cup of instant ramen; it was like nothing had really changed. I didn't feel any different; it was like the entire ordeal had been nothing more than a dream, except for the fact that Hyourinmaru was talking now.

Ichigo and Kisuke were sitting down across from me and Yoruichi was lounging on a huge cushion by the window.

"So, how'd it go?" Kisuke asked.

"He did pretty well, actually," Ichigo quipped

"As expected; he knows how to do everything it's just a matter for him to recall it," Kisuke turned to me, "and now that you can hear Hyourinmaru, I expect you to progress at a much faster rate."

I nodded slowly... faster rate? This guy was insane.

"Also we should be heading over to the Soul Society in a few days."

"But what about the hollow?" I asked.

"There is a group of people who are more experienced with inner hollows than I am. They've agreed to train you."

"Who?"

"We'll take care of that when we come back. Now, Hyōka, I can't stress how important it will be for you to be on your best behaviour while in the Soul Society."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm not that bad; I know how to behave."

Ichigo coughed and Kisuke continued to stare at me. "I'm serious; do not give the Head-captain any reason to be more apprehensive about you."

"He's apprehensive about me?"

"You're not supposed to exist. The Soul Society doesn't take too kindly to anomalies."

"So what will they do to me?"

"Nothing if everything goes as planned."

"And if it doesn't?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Ichigo cut Kisuke off.

I scowled at him.

"We don't want to freak you out just yet, kid. And I trust that I don't have to tell you to keep this from Mikami and Teito. If they find out that you're potentially in danger they will fight to keep you here."

"Yeah, you don't have to tell me that twice." I sighed and shook my head.

"So, Hyōka, I hope you remember all that I've told you about the Soul Society." Kisuke continued. "While we're there you are not allowed to go anywhere without me or Ichigo -"

"What about Matsumoto, Abarai and Kuchiki?"

"I repeat; do not go anywhere without either one of us."

I frowned, "But I know those three; they won't hurt me."

"We can't be too careful; I trust them, but not the people they will be with. And please try to be polite; there are still a few captains who are very traditional. No snappy comebacks, no sarcasm, and only speak when necessary. And do not mention anything about your inner hollow."

"Why?"

"Have I told you about Central forty-six?"

I nodded, "That stupid council thing that tries to rule the Gotei Thirteen?"

"Yes that's the one. They did not like the idea of a captain being reincarnated with his powers and memories still intact; they said it threw off the balance between the worlds. They are not your friends, Hyōka, and if they find out that you're a _visored_ as well... let's just say it will make things extremely difficult."

Ichigo frowned, "I thought that the members of Central forty-six were all dead."

"They found new members and trust me; they're stricter and more stuck up than the last council. Over half of them are nobles."

"Nobles aren't that noble are they?" I asked.

Kisuke sighed, "Their idea of preserving the safety of Soul Society is very black and white; they aren't known for making exceptions. While we're there you need to stay off their radar. Keep a low profile as much as possible-"

"So if this is such a big risk why dose Yamamoto even want to meet me?"

Kisuke paused, "You're the reincarnation of one of his captains..."

"That can't be the only reason."

"Honestly, I'm not too sure myself."

I frowned; I think _shinigami_ was becoming a synonym for fishy.

...

Toushiro was acting weird. It was really subtle the way he fidgeted with the sleeves of his _kodose_ and chewed on the insides of his cheeks but I still noticed it anyway.

_What's the matter? _I asked sitting down in the snow next to him.

He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. _Nothing. _

_Yeah right. What is it?_

He rolled his eyes, _it's not important. _

_So then why are you fidgeting? _

_I'm not._

_I'm not blind, Toushiro. _

He huffed. _It's nothing. _

I turned to Hyourinmaru for help. The dragon simply rested his head at our feet.

_Thanks for the help_, I rolled my eyes, _You know, I'm not going to stop bugging you until you tell me._

_There is nothing to tell. _Toushiro had clenched his jaw in annoyance.

_I don't believe that for a second. _What the hell could have him so uneasy? It couldn't be the hollow since he was allowing me to sit next to him. I hadn't said nor done anything to piss him off... well at least I didn't think so. The only thing that had happened was my training with Ichigo and the talk with Kisuke. I paused; was I really that thick? Of course it was the talk about the Soul society. After all, it used to be his home. He had been literally ripped away from it, thrust into all of this, and now was being made to go back. I'm sure that he had a lot of unfinished business there, more than a few friends, enemies, and a tonne of memories both good and bad. I would be a bit anxious if I was in his situation.

I turned to stare at him. It was a short while before he noticed and a bit longer before he got annoyed.

_What? _ he hissed.

_You don't have to pretend to be fearless in front of me, you know. I know what you've gone through and vice versa. If we're still trying to keep things from one another at this point then I don't even know what's going on anymore. _

He raised an eyebrow, _And so the peacock accuses the rooster of being too gaudy._

_Hey, I never said I wasn't guilty. So the Soul Society... did you have any unfinished business there?_

He gave an exasperated sigh. _Well, considering that I didn't plan on dying beforehand yes, I did. I'm not ready to go back yet. _

Hyourinmaru rumbled in agreement.

_We don't have much of a choice. _I mumbled.

_I know; I'll deal with it, regardless. _

I chewed the inside of my cheek and dug a small hole in the snow with my foot. I managed to kick a bit into Hyourinmaru's face and he stared at me obviously annoyed.

_It's kind of weird, _Toushiro muttered,_ to think that after I ... left... everyone just continued on. I know the world didn't end just because I did, but it's very disconcerting to know that things went on like I hadn't even existed in the first place. My existence was literally wiped out and I can't just pick back up where I left off. Rangiku is now captain of the Tenth, from what I understand the Gotei Thirteen is completely changed, Hinamori is dead, I don't even think I'm going to recognise half the shinigami in my division anymore-_

_Who's Hinamori?_

Toushiro froze and I felt the air around him grow cold with his _reiatsu_. _I... I-I'll tell you later._

I sighed but nodded. Toushiro really didn't seem like he wanted to be pestered about that topic. I drew my legs closer to me and rested my chin on my knees. All three of us were silent for a short time until Hyourinmaru's ears perked up.

_Incoming, _he chanted and my inner world faded around me.

There was a knock on the door and Mikami poked her head into the room.

"Hyōka?" when she saw that I was sitting on my futon she flung the door open and bolted towards me. I found myself enveloped in her arms. "Thank god you're alright."

I returned her hug, "You can't get rid of me that easily."

She released me and shook her head while smiling.

"Yeah, odds like that and yet he's just sitting here as if he just returned from Tahiti." I turned my head to see Teito leaning against the doorframe.

I rolled my eyes, "I'll have you know that I'm exhausted."

"I'm sure you are, Koko-chan." He came over and patted me on the head.

...

I sighed, wondering how I had ended up at a shoe store in the mall. Apparently I needed new dress shoes for the wedding and we were only doing it now because later on we would be bogged down by other things. We were going to try on suits after this; I had to keep on reminding myself that this was for a good cause.

Mikami had wondered off some time ago; she was dead set on finding me shoes. Teito had also disappeared a while back, saying that he had to finalise some spa appointment for Kamiko. He did say that he would meet up with us for lunch though. But anyway, I was pretty much bored out of my mind here; shopping could only get so exciting. I was beginning to wish that Kisuke hadn't given me the day off today.

I was sitting down on some low, leather chair in the shoe store, hunched over, and blowing puffs of air through my mouth to entertain myself. It was needless to say I was bored as hell.

"Yeah, shoes have always been a bore to me as well; now ties, however, ties are a different story." I jumped a mile; the person had been centimetres from my eyes. I had actually felt his breath on my face.

The person chuckled, "Kisuke told me you'd be a jumpy one."

I scowled and sized him up. He was gangly but stood with a really bad stoop. He was blond with a bowl haircut and had really big teeth. All in all, he looked so weird that I didn't even notice his bright purple tie with green and orange polka dots. He had to be a _shinigami_ of some sort; only one of them would be this weird.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

"The name's Shinji, Hirako Shinji."

"And what do you want?"

He smiled, "A little birdie told me that you were having trouble with a certain inner hollow..."

So he was a _shinigami_. "Yeah, what of it?"

He said nothing in reply but handed me a small slip of paper. "Whenever you're ready, kid, come and find me."

I looked down at the paper where an address had been scrawled hastily on it. When I looked back up he had disappeared. I frowned; was this the person that Kisuke had been talking about? He didn't look like he knew anything about _visored_, but then again I really shouldn't judge _shinigami_ by how they looked; I had learnt that much. I shoved the piece of paper into my jeans and sat back down. Hirako Shinji, huh; I wondered what part he played in all of this.

...

I swallowed and stared dead straight into the hollow's eyes. I shouldn't have been afraid of him still; I had Hyourinmaru to help me fight him off. I shouldn't have been afraid, but I was. I had summoned Hyourinmaru the second I had felt the hollow appear and now I was clutching the naked blade to my chest.

_What do you want?_ I asked through a clenched jaw.

_That's a stupid question; you know what I want. _

_I'm not afraid of you anymore-_

_Oh, is that what you're telling yourself now?_

_I can fight you._

He grinned,_ You may have gotten a power-up but then again so did I._ Then out of nowhere he was swinging a sword at me. I jumped back, narrowly avoiding the blow.

He cackled, _You keep on forgetting that I am the rightful owner of this body, Hyourinmaru is and has always been MY zanpakuto._

He was brandishing Hyourinmaru but there were changes in the blade. The hilt was wrapped in midnight blue cloth and the cross-guard was made of silver instead of bronze. I swallowed; this wasn't fair, was the hollow always going to be stronger than me?

I pointed Hyourinmaru at him and took up an offensive stance. Even if he was trying to kill me there was no way in hell that I was going to make it easy for him. He eyed me with vague amusement before lunging at me. The two Hyourinmarus clashed together with an echoing clang. I broke away first and swiped at his side but he blocked me effortlessly.

_Do you really think you can stand up to me? ME, a captain-class shinigami?_

I didn't answer him and attacked again. He blocked my attack like he was swatting a fly. I tried to keep my face steeled as we fought but when I saw his smile widen I knew that I was doing a terrible job. The level of skill between us was immense; here he was backed with a hundred years of experience in battle and I only had a few weeks under my belt – two days with Hyourinmaru to be precise. There was no way I could beat him. I felt myself deflate; I thought that becoming a _shinigami _would at least give me an edge against him.

I blocked a side-swipe to my midriff; the vibrations of our _zanpakuto_ clashing together jarred me to my bones. Somewhere during the battle the hollow had managed to switch our positions; now I was scrambling against his onslaught of attacks. I was so going to kill Kisuke when I got out of this. He had said that becoming a _shinigami_ was supposed to help but right now it looked as though it had made it worse.

I stumbled backwards and fell over as I just avoided the hollow's attack. He straightened, grinning and moving closer towards me. I scrambled to my knees and swiped at his stomach. He had let his guard down for a second and my attack came within inches of grazing him. He had leapt backwards and was now glaring at me with a snarl on his face. Before he could attack again, though, I pulled myself out of my inner world.

I sat up, panting on the futon and covered my face with my hands only to feel something warm and wet on my right cheek. I pulled my hand back to see it coated with a dark liquid; it was only then that the cut started to sting. I guess I hadn't avoided the hollow's attack after all. Instinctively, I reached out for my stuffed Hyourinmaru and held him close. Why hadn't any of us realised that before? Of course if I learnt anything new so would the hollow. He could hear my thoughts after all; he knew exactly what was going on. There hadn't been much fanfare when I became a_ shinigami_ but I was beginning to think that I had made a huge mistake. I hadn't known what to expect; but I certainly hadn't anticipated that the hollow would progress alongside with me. Maybe Mikami was right, maybe I should have just stayed as I was and let the others handle this. If I hadn't been so damn inquisitive maybe the hollow wouldn't have been brought to life in the first place.

I clutched Hyourinmaru to my chest and took a few deep breaths to clear my head. There was no way I could go back to sleep after this so I got up and wondered about the house for a while. There was a disconnection between my brain and my body; I was too busy thinking over things to notice where my feet were brining me. I eventually ended up on the porch in front of Kisuke's store; it was late but a full moon hung in the sky so everything was bathed in silvery light. I sighed and sunk to the ground resting my head against a wooden pillar.

Taking care of the hollow would be much harder than I had originally thought and now I wasn't even sure I could do it. I glanced down at the stuffed dragon in my arms and did not even flinch when he suddenly came to life and wiggled out of my grasp. I wasn't about to go back into my inner world so I figured that he had decided to come out here to meet me. He moved from my arms to curl up on my lap and I stroked his plush fur. I continued to stare at the moon and felt myself calm down a bit; Hyourinmaru's presence was comforting.

"Ask the question, hatchling, I can see it bursting to get out."

My eyebrows shot up as the dragon's voice echoed along the empty porch. I hadn't known that he could talk in this form as well.

"Is it really so surprising?"

I shook my head, "I guess I'm just not used to you talking yet."

He chuckled. "Now, the question..."

"How am I supposed to beat him now? He can still pummel me into the ground without even breaking a sweat."

"But you can fight back. Any sort of resistance is useful, hatchling."

"He almost gutted me a while ago."

"Yet, he didn't." the dragon let out a death breath, "Patience, young one. You can't expect to obtain the skill of a seasoned warrior over night, now can you?"

"But-"

"Yes, you have a sword now, but you still have miles to go. I know you don't recall either our _shikai_ or _bankai_."

"So I'm not much different from when I started is what you're saying."

"Exactly."

I sighed, "Neither of us picked up on the whole empathy thing, did we?"

Hyourinmaru laughed loudly and I couldn't help but smile along with him. "Toushiro is the cause of it all."

I chewed my lip at statement; could he really joke about that?

"Don't worry about it too much; this is a trying time for all of us. You'll become a strong fighter soon enough. And I wouldn't let that hollow knock you around too badly until then."

I shook my head, "It's good to know you care."


	33. Chapter 33

**Hi everyone :) **

**So sorry about the wait... I tend to be very optimistic when it comes to my writing time, but I got a job for the summer and I started back at the gym so when I finally reach home I'm beat :/ I'll still try to speed things up as much as I can again I apologise**

**Anyway, this is a rather short chapter because with all the things I had planned it would have gotten waaay too long and you guys would have ended up waiting an entire month; so I cut it off where I saw fit**

**And it's super emotional so be warned**

* * *

Mikami insisted on holding my hand as we waited in Kisuke's basement. I protested, of course, but she dutifully ignored me and held me tighter.

I was feeling a bit off this morning; agitated and annoyed because of it. Last night we had all been briefed about going to the Soul Society –me for the second time – and had decided that Mikami would join Kisuke, Ichigo and me. Teito would remain and think of a good cover story. As much as he would have liked to go he had a lot going on in this world and did not need any more commotion in another one. Mikami had refused to let me go by myself and would not listen to a word that either one of the men had said. They had eventually relented, but she was warned not to interfere with anything or anyone. I was a bit glad that she was coming with me, actually; I realised, after hours of tossing and turning in my bed, that I did not want to go through all of this alone.

Also, Toushiro was petrified of going back. He didn't admit it, but I knew what he was thinking about. He hadn't uttered a single word during the discussion last night and I could feel the trepidation seeping through his barrier. Since his emotions influenced mine I was also feeling very uneasy about this trip. I couldn't stomach any of the breakfast Tessai had prepared and I felt as if I was going to have a panic attack at any moment. But I would have to be crazy if I let anyone else know about this; Mikami would probably not let me go if she knew how I felt. I was not in the mood to argue with her.

"I'm not four anymore; you can let go of me, Mikami." I snapped and tried to yank my hand from her grasp. In my mind I knew I was acting like a spoilt brat.

She glanced down at me with a slight frown on her face. "I'll let go when we get there."

I tugged harder, "That's not the point; just let me go!"

She sighed and dropped my hand. "Fine, you don't have to yell."

I took a step away from her scowling. "I wasn't yelling."

It was her turn to scowl, "What's the matter with you this morning?"

"There's nothing wrong with me," I growled though a clenched jaw, "and shouldn't we be leaving now? We've been waiting here for hours."

She sighed, "Calm down, Hyōka-"

"I'm calm enough. I want to get a move on. Why the hell would they make me get up so early then have me wait here for almost two hours?"

"We haven't been here that long."

I rolled my eyes and was just about to stomp off when Kisuke and Ichigo appeared out of nowhere.

"Where ya going, kid?" the red-head man asked.

"Nowhere," I growled.

He gave me an odd look before shrugging and turning to Kisuke. Kisuke in response pointed his cane at me.

"One more thing before we leave." With that he poked me in my chest with the end of his stick and I went tumbling backwards. I tried not to react when my body fell to the ground next to me but I still shivered slightly and I glared up at him.

"You should be in _shinigami_ form for this," he explained.

I stood up and brushed the dirt off my knees. I also picked up my _zanpakuto,_ which had fallen to the ground beside me.

"And here," Kisuke tossed something to me. "So you won't have to keep on carrying Hyourinmaru in your hands."

I held up a bronze chain and looked questioningly at him.

"It's so you can wear Hyourinmaru on your back," Ichigo explained, "since he's way too long to tuck into you're _hakama-himo_."

"You just had this lying around?"I asked.

"You never know when something is going to come in handy," Kisuke said with a smile.

"Here, I'll help you attach it to your sheath." Ichigo said and reached out for my _zanpakuto_. However, as soon as his fingertips touched Hyourinmaru he withdrew his hand and glared at me. "Alright, what's the matter, Hyōka?"

"Nothing-"

He held up his hand; it was covered with a thin layer of melting ice. "You've let me handle Hyourinmaru before. What's eating at you?"

All three of the adults were now staring at me. I turned away from them. "I can do it myself."

There was a collective sigh from behind me.

"I thought we got past this stage," Ichigo muttered, "What happened?"

"I don't know; he woke up like this..." Mikami answered.

"Well, he is a teenager now," Kisuke supplied, "mood swings?"

"Would you stop talking about me like I'm not two feet away?" I snapped, "And let's get going already."

"Right," Kisuke stepped forward, "Once I open the_ gate _we'll need to get through the _dangai_ within four minutes or else we'll be trapped. I trust your _shunpo_ is up to standard, Hyōka, Yoruichi did teach you after all."

"Shunpo?" Mikami asked hesitantly, "How exactly-"

"Don't worry; I'll take care of you." Ichigo said as he stepped towards her.

The four of us stepped up towards the massive stone arc. I swallowed to put my nerves at ease and readied myself for the sprint. I peered through the gate; it was basically a long tunnel made out of smooth, purple-ish rock and there was a tiny patch of light at the end. Why was it that everything connected to the spirit world was so creepy? I shook my head. This was it; at the end of it all was the soul society. The thought made my stomach bubble uncomfortably. Some of Toushiro's memories of the place had flooded my head all through the night. It was creepy to know that I was going to enter a world that I was once part of but no longer existed in.

"Ready?" Kisuke asked.

I nodded and Ichigo scooped up Mikami in his arms. I chuckled inwardly at her expression; she had not been expecting that.

"Let's go then."

I jumped into a _shunpo_ next to Kisuke. I was able to keep up with the two of them, but then again they hadn't been going at full speed. It took less than a minute to get though the tunnel and we landed in a patch of sticky mud and a few light raindrops fell from the overcast sky. We had appeared in a small village with tiny wooden huts and thatched roofs. A few people in tattered _yutaka_ stared at us as if we were aliens that had just beamed down from the sky. Well, I guess that's what we were essentially; our sudden appearance was anything if not bizarre. The villagers sized us up for a second but then continued on with their daily business; they were probably used to this I guess, this was the home of the _shinigami_ after all.

I stepped out of the patch of mud onto a less damp part of earth and tried to scrape the mud off my shoes. Ichigo placed Mikami back on her feet but had to catch her as she wobbled a bit.

"Hey, you gonna be okay?" Ichigo asked her.

She nodded. "That was the worst feeling ever; I felt like I was on a really bad rollercoaster."

Ichigo scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry about that."

"And welcome to the Soul Societ, everyone," Kisuke announced drawing our attention.

Again, this was definitely not what I expected. It was a small village; a farming village by the looks of it and something straight out of a history book dealing with feudal Japan. People were wearing _yutaka_ for crying out loud. Maybe that was why the _shinigami_ uniform was so dated. I mean we were wearing _waraji_ and _tabi_; no one did that anymore.

"_This _is it?" I asked looking around with a raised eyebrow.

"The afterlife isn't as extravagant as the living make it out to be."

"Yeah, but I thought that you _shinigami_ would be slightly more lavish than this."

"Oh no, this is the _Rukongai_; it's where the regular souls live. _Shinigami_ live in the _Seireitei_. That's over there," he pointed to a huge, white, stone wall.

How the hell had I missed that? It was over twelve stories high; the biggest structure for miles.

"How do we get in-" I was cut off by a high pitched squeal. I spun to my right to see Rangiku bounce up to us in a flash of strawberry-blond, pink, and black. I barely had time to blink before she had me wrapped up in a bear hug.

"Ohmygodyou'rebackImissedyousomuchI'msohappytoseey ooooouuu!" she squealed into my shoulder.

"It's... um it's good to see you too again, Matsumoto." I awkwardly patted her back.

She let me go after what felt like ages and stood back. "Oh, hi everyone else." She waved as if just noticing them.

Ichigo rolled his eyes, Kisuke just smirked, and Mikami shook her head.

"It's good to see you too, Rangiku."

"So, now that we have the whole day ahead of us what are we planning to do?" Rangiku grinned and wrapped an arm around Mikami's shoulders.

"Don't you have work to be doing, _Captain_?" Ichigo muttered. "Plus we came here to see the Head-captain; not hang out with you."

"That's not until twelve," she said waving her hand, "we've got plenty time until that."

I raised an eyebrow, "We left at ten, that's only two hours."

"Oh, you got kicked back a couple hours, its eight now." she explained with a smile.

"What are you doing up at this time?" Ichigo teased.

She rolled her eyes, "I am a captain you know; I have duties."

He snorted.

I turned to Kisuke ignoring the banter.

"The time continuum moves much slower in the Soul Society than it does in the world of the living." he explained upon seeing my expression. "It's not uncommon for people to lose or gain time when travelling between the worlds; it could be minutes, hours, even days or years. Two hours isn't that bad."

Mikami was taking this all in with a dazed expression on her face.

"I was thinking I could give you guys a tour while we wait," Rangiku suggested.

Mikami nodded in agreement, Ichigo sighed heavily and rolled his eyes, but I hesitated. Toushiro was frozen still in my mind. His jaw and fists were clenched but his eyes betrayed the turmoil that was going on in his head. Hyourinmaru was lying down next to him; his head was centimetres away from Toushiro's left leg.

_Are you going to be okay?_ I asked slowly. I could feel unease roll off of him in waves.

He nodded haltingly. _What do you want to do? Stand out here until twelve? I'll be fine._

_In which aspect of the word? Look, Toushiro, I know how you're feeling; I can feel it._

He sighed and his expression softened. _I pushed you through when we tried to escape from Aizen; now you'll have to do the same for me._

I nodded. _You got it._

When I turned my attention back to the real world everyone was staring at me. I then realised that my breathing had become shallow.

"Are you okay, Hyōka?" Mikami asked.

I nodded. "It's nothing. Let's go."

Ichigo clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"You guys go on ahead," Kisuke said taking a few steps away from us, "I've got some business to attend to," he was gone in seconds.

"Right," Rangiku exclaimed clapping her hands excitedly. "Let's start with the Tenth."

I felt my stomach drop to my feet and my mouth went dry.

...

Once we were inside the _Seireitei_ Toushiro calmed down a bit. Things hadn't changed that much, he told me, except that there were a lot more _shinigami_ walking around. He also said that it felt like he was returning after a long vacation if he didn't think about the whole death part – he was trying very hard not to think about the whole death part. He was actually the smallest bit eager to see what had become of his old home. The eagerness conflicted with the apprehension and caused my stomach to tie itself in knots, however. The feudal style architecture was continued for the most part inside the _Seireitei_ except for the huge, white towers. Many of the buildings looked like palaces of ancient lords and were made of either the same white stone or wood. It was also very large; I was told that it could take up to two days to travel from one end to the other. We had to _shunpo_ to get where we were going.

We reached the entrance to the Tenth Division in about twenty minutes and stood before a grand entranceway marked with the _kanji _for the number ten inside a diamond – it was identical to the marking on Rangiku's _haori_. There was a wrenching pang in my gut as we walked down the hallways and I felt my palms begin to sweat. In my inner world I reached out for Toushiro's hand; he allowed me to take it and I gently urged him forward.

The buildings of the Tenth were no different from the others in the _Seireitei_, but Toushiro's memories had sparked a little nostalgia in me and I couldn't take in everything fast enough even though my stomach was still twisting painfully.

The passageways were also littered with Shinigami going about their daily business but every so often a few of them would drop what they were doing and ogle at me as if I was an electric, blue dinosaur. As we went further into the division, a few of them got bolder and followed us a bit. I even heard a couple of them whisper 'Captain Hitsugaya".

Toushiro closed his eyes for a brief moment and when he opened them they were slightly glassy.

Rangiku placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently. "The men really cared about Captain – sorry... Toushiro, he was a great leader." She paused to let out a lengthy sigh, "I can't even hold a candle to him."

A lone tear dripped down Toushiro's cheek and his lips curved into a small smile.

"Actually, I have something to show you,"

She led us to a small garden. Bunches of daffodils ranging from bright yellow to white and orange lined a narrow stone pathway. In the centre was a circular bed of flowers with a thin, white marble pillar rising from the middle.

_This wasn't here before_, Toushiro muttered in confusion.

"What is it?" I asked Rangiku.

She looked at me with a sad smile. "Read it."

I moved closer to the marble pillar being mindful not to destroy any of the flowers. Engraved in the stone were a few lines of _kanji_; I had to squint to make it out.

_Is that..._

Hitsugaya Toushiro: Captain of the Tenth Division. As long as we live, he too will live; for he now is a part of us, as we remember him.

I felt as if I swallowed a watermelon whole and it had gotten stuck in my throat. I turned to Rangiku.

"It was a few of the seated members who came up with this and a majority of the division helped to build and maintain it." She looked away; I swore I saw a few tears in her eyes. "The daffodil is the symbol of the Tenth and the garden is situated right in the centre of the division grounds."

I felt my hands start to tremble and the world around me became blurry. I felt someone put a hand on my shoulder and squeeze gently. But I dropped to my knees regardless and felt sobs grow throughout my body.

"Can you leave me alone for a while?" I wasn't even surprised to hear Toushiro's voice come out of my mouth.

I didn't pay attention to whether or not the others left. I had never felt such despair before; it was as if my heart was being sucked into a black hole. Toushiro had taken control of my body and I was now sitting on the ground staring at the memorial with tears running freely down my face. He didn't say anything; nothing needed to be said. If anything the dark pain that radiated from him was enough. In my head I reached out and wrapped my arms around his shoulders and buried my head into his back. He held my hands at his chest with one of his and Hyourinmaru curled around us like a mother bird. All three of us knew that this trip was going to be hard; and nothing could have been done or said to make it any easier. Right now all we could do was cry; cry out of fury for the world that one of us was unceremoniously kicked out of, cry out of grief for everyone that was left behind, but cry out of gladness because his – Toushiro's – memory still lived strong and he had hundreds of soldiers that still looked up to him.

Gone but not forgotten. A cold wind blew through the garden and broke a few flowers off of their stems; the skies broke and down came the rain.

* * *

**Yeah very emotional. Well this had to come out sooner or later :/**

**Next chapter I promise is going to have a bit more to look forward to.**

**Also a small disclaimer: the poem/prayer on Toushiro's memorial is actually a Jewish prayer that I came across.**

**Hope you enjoyed it and please leave a few remarks**

**-Mymomomo**


	34. Chapter 34

**Well hello again everyone sorry for the delay... again. I'm really bad at this updating in a timely manner thing :/**

**So... I'm sorry for the amount of people I made cry last time but I can't guarantee that this chapter will be any better. Consider yourselves warned. **

**And Enjoy **

* * *

I knew I had been sitting in front of the memorial long enough when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Toushiro had stopped crying only a few minutes prior and was now trying to pull himself back together. He ran my hands down my face, wiping away the tears, and took a few deep breaths before turning to face the person behind me.

"What do you want, Kurosaki?" he asked, his voice still thick and cracking.

Ichigo said nothing but squeezed my shoulder. Toushiro sighed and looked back to the memorial. The sky was still overcast but now a few drops fell down.

"What time is it?" he asked after a short while.

"We still have half an hour before the meeting. Do you want to talk or anything?"

"No, I'll be fine," Toushiro stood up, straightened my _shikakusho_, and moved to turn away.

"Hey, Toushiro," Ichigo grabbed my sleeve. "I know this is hard for you, but please don't try to bottle everything up again."

Toushiro paused and looked at Ichigo out of the corner of my eyes.

"I know that not a single one of us can truly understand what you're going through now," he continued, "but a lot of people still care about you; I don't know if that makes this any easier, but remember that we're here to help."

He nodded. "I will."

He gave me a small smile. "Good."

"And, Kurosaki, it still is and always will be Captain Hitsugaya."

...

The four of us stood together in a large hall – the First Division meeting hall as Toushiro informed me. Sitting down in a high backed wooden chair on a sort of stage was the oldest man I had ever seen. His white beard fell past his waist and was wrapped with a purple ribbon. He had bushy eyebrows and was bald with an x shaped scar on his scalp. In one gnarled hand he held a thick wooden walking cane his other hand was missing; his sleeve was deflated at his side.

Silence hung in the air like wet laundry. After a quick introduction the room had lapsed into silence. I could practically feel Ichigo shifting around uncomfortably behind me. Mikami was twiddling her thumbs impatiently and Kisuke was having a stare-off with the old man in front of us. I nervously shifted from one foot to the other before Toushiro snapped at me to stop fidgeting. I heaved a sigh and turned back to the old man's waiting game; I wasn't going to be able to take this any longer.

"Okay, so are you going to say anything or what?" my voice echoed around the room.

Everyone turned to look at me like I had done something unforgivable.

"Why did we even bother briefing him?" Ichigo muttered.

"What? We've been standing here for long enough and I know we weren't called here just so he can make goo-goo faces at Urahara."

Ichigo covered his face with his hands. "I apologise for him, Head-captain. This one still doesn't understand the concept of manners."

Mikami shook her head and Urahara chuckled.

"That's the first time you called him 'head-captain'," Urahara smiled.

Ichigo frowned, "No, it's not-"

"Yes it is, Kurosaki," the old man's voice boomed around the hall.

Ichigo scratched the back of his neck.

"You are the reincarnation of Captain Hitugaya Toushiro, am I correct?" he suddenly turned to me and cracked open a droopy eye.

"Yes," I answered, slightly shocked at the abruptness.

"And am I to believe that you retained his powers and memories?"

"... Sort of."

He raised an eyebrow. "Do you or do you not recall memories from your past life?"

"Well yes... "

"And do you or do _you_ not wield the _zanpakuto_ Hyourinmaru?"

"I do."

He nodded. "That is all."

I blinked. "Wait a minute, how is that all? You asked me four questions. I did not come all this way just so you can stare me down then ask me questions that I'm sure you know the answer to."

He frowned. "You forget your place-"

"My place-"

Ichigo put a hand on my shoulder and shook his head. I swallowed my retort and settled for glaring at the Head-captain.

"Now," the old man prattled on, "We need to discuss the matter of your duties."

My stomach dropped to my feet, but before I could say anything he continued.

"The Tenth division already has a captain and Matsumoto Rangiku is doing an excellent job at the moment. The only other option would be for you to join the Ninth. I will inform the vice captain and we will begin to make arrangements immediately."

I turned to Mikami then Ichigo and lastly Kisuke. Mikmai managed to pull off a look of fury and bewilderment while Ichigo was plain out shocked and Kisuke's face was unreadable as usual. I could pretty much imagine the look on my face; eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Yamamoto noticed my expression and his brow dipped slightly.

"Is there a problem, Captain Hitsugaya?"

He thought I was... I closed my mouth. "Yes, actually, there is."

"Hyō-" Ichigo warned.

"My name is Hyōka, Takemitsu Hyōka."

"Your reincarnation's name, yes, I understand that. If you wish to be referred to by this name from now on then that isn't a problem-"

"Oh, that's not the problem!"

Every single head shot towards Mikami. She was glaring at the Head-captain with her jaw clenched, her eyes ablaze, and her hands fisted at her sides.

"He is not one of your soldiers who you can order around," she continued, "he's a thirteen-year-old boy – a child – and I don't want him to be thrown in together with any trained fighters. Let's get one thing straight here; I will not allow this."

The old man turned his glared towards her. "He is a _shinigami _captain; it is his duty to take up his post and help us in this war."

"He's _not_ fighting in any war!"

"And who are you to decide this?"

"His sister!"

"The reincarnation's sister, I see. Were you not informed on who this boy truly is? He may have been masquerading as a human child for the past twelve years, but now it is time for him to come back to his duties as a captain."

"That's not going to happen. You were the one misinformed because _my brother_ is not a chess piece and you better reconsider what you are saying."

"I do not take orders from human civilians; you will not tell me how to run the _Gotei _Thirteen. This boy is under my jurisdiction so if I tell him to take up arms against an enemy of the Soul Society he will obey."

The room suddenly felt hot and the air was thick – almost hard to breathe. Yamamoto had let a bit of his _reiatsu_ loose – probably to try to intimidate Mikami. What he didn't realise was that Mikami was not one to be easily intimidated. Nevertheless, I felt my knees begin to grow weak and I caught myself chewing my bottom lip out of nervousness. Mikami was trebling but I couldn't tell if it was because of the change in atmosphere or out of anger.

"If I may say something," Kisuke interjected, "Hyōka-kun here isn't really Hitsugaya Toushiro. He is his reincarnation and he has retained his memories and powers but he is still a human child. How should I put this? ...Captain Hitsugaya now exists as a part of Hyōka. To make an analogy the slate was wiped clean but the etchings are still visible."

The old man frowned. "Why wasn't I informed of this sooner? It seems that there has been a miscommunication; I was lead to believe that one of my captains had returned from the dead."

Kisuke scratched his chin. "Well something did go wrong with the reincarnation process and Hyōka is more tied to his past life that any other reincarnation ever recorded, but he is not his old self anymore. Only recently – three days ago, actually – did he manage to manifest Hyourinmaru."

The head-captain let out a sigh and leaned back into his chair as if he was suddenly exhausted. "This is a major setback. I will be speaking to the information couriers about the importance of relaying correct information."

"It wasn't their fault." I blurt out. I didn't want him to punish Rukia, Renji or Rangiku for this. "We weren't sure what I was until recently either."

Yamamoto raised an eyebrow. "What you are?"

"An anomaly; a human with his own _shinigami_ powers." Kisuke answered trying to cover up my mistake.

"This changes things entirely. As a human he cannot be involved with matters of the Soul Society, but neither can his powers be ignored."

"What are we supposed to do then?" the question came from Ichigo.

"I will look in to this matter; you shall have an answer by tomorrow."

"Yes, of course."

Minutes later Kisuke, Mikami and I were walking down the hallways of the First division. Ichigo had been asked to stay back to discuss something else.

"You know, Mikami, that was a really foolish thing you did back there." Kisuke remarked as we rounded a corner.

"What?" she snapped, "I wasn't going to let him-"

"You just yelled at the leader of the _shinigami_, do you know how much power that man has? He could have killed you right on the spot."

She raised her eyebrows as I turned to look at her. I knew that Mikami was brave but... wow.

"I didn't agree with what he was saying so I let him know." She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and glared at Kisuke daring him to tell her that she was wrong.

He shrugged. "You have guts, my dear, a great deal of guts."

"Wait, so how come when you talk back to authority you're heroic but when I do it I'm rude?" I asked.

Mikami rolled her eyes. "Because you talk back just for the fun of it."

I stuck out my tongue at her. "So, what are we going to do until tomorrow?"

"I'll find us a place to stay tonight, but you're pretty much free until tomorrow." Kisuke answered with a smile.

I probably should have felt a bit more nervous about the fact that what was to be done with me was being decided, but I did not want to think about that now; I refused to think about that now.

_Do you think we could go see Matsumoto again?_ Toushiro asked. _I want to talk to her about something._

I relayed the question to Kisuke. He agreed and we changed our course towards the Tenth.

...

"So, what can I do for you?" Rangiku grinned brightly at me

"I... uh... I have a question for you."

I was sitting on a couch in the Tenth division's administrative office. Kisuke was leaning against the desk and Mikami was sitting next to me.

"Sure thing; ask away. Oh, can I get you guys anything to drink? Sake?"

Mikami politely refused but Kisuke asked for a cup. I preferred to think that the question wasn't directed at me. After a few minutes Rangiku sat down on my other side with her fingers wrapped around the neck of a rather large bottle of sake.

_That woman; she's always drinking on the job._ Toushiro growled.

"Really, Matsumoto? It's the middle of the day." I sighed.

She waved her hand at me. "It's after six somewhere. Anyway what was it that you wanted to ask me?"

I sighed and could feel Toushiro tense in my head. Hyourinmaru placed his snout against his shoulder.

"It's about Hinamori... Wha-What happened to her?" I had learnt a lot of things during our time in front of the memorial and Hinamori Momo was one of them. It was kind of weird how I felt so close to someone I had never met before.

Rangiku's eyes widened and she fell silent for a brief moment. She placed the bottle of sake down on the coffee table before turning sideways on the seat to face me.

"Momo... is..."

"D-d...did I kill her?" Mikami put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently.

"No!" Rangiku exclaimed and I felt Toushiro sigh in relief. He collapsed onto his knees in the snow and a smile appeared on his face while for the second time that day he allowed tears to roll down his cheeks. I felt a few tears prickle my eyes and I quickly wiped them away. Rangiku saw, however, and placed a hand on my knee.

"No, you didn't kill her." She took a deep breath, "I knew this question was going to come. The healers were sent straight to Momo, after she... fell in battle. They did the best they could and when she saw Aizen cut you... _Captain_ down she ran to help. Captain landed almost a block away, but she was the first one there. She held his body in her arms until the clean-up squads came and we had to return to the Soul Soceity. I heard her scream at Azien that she would make him pay for killing Captain. She wanted to be the one to end his life but a she fell into a coma when we were transporting her to the Fourth and few days later she succumbed to her injuries. Captain Unohana did all she could... I'm so sorry."

Toushiro's smile had faded and he was staring straight ahead like he could not believe what he had just heard.

_She's dead..._ he whispered.

_You were not the cause of it, Little One,_ Hyourinmaru rumbled.

_I stabbed her through the heart!_

_She did not blame you; she forgave you. It was of you that she thought of with her dying breath so don't you dear make her last wish go to naught._

He turned to Hyourinmaru. _If I had been stronger I could have seen past Aizen's illusion and have known that it was her._

_Yes, but you weren't strong enough. We were given a second chance and mark my words both of you. Hitsugaya Toushiro and Takemitsu Hyōka we will avenge Momo and everyone else that that bastard killed. _

Toushiro stared directly at Hyourinmaru and nodded. I wish I could have been as self-assured as either one of them but instead I took a deep, shuddering breath and closed my eyes.

"Who's Hinamori?" Mikami asked softly.

"She was Captain's childhood friend, almost like a sister; they grew up together." Rangiku answered.

Despite Hyourinmaru's pep talk Toushiro broke down again upon hearing her words. I buried my face in my arms and pulled my knees into my chest. Mikami wrapped her arms around my shoulders and squeezed me gently.

"Oh Hyōka..." she murmured into the top of my head.

I appreciated the gesture but I wasn't really listening. I was focused on the _shinigami_ boy sitting in the snow. Today had been a long and trying emotional ride for Toushiro; he looked worn out. His eyes were rimmed with red and slightly puffy and he had a defined droop to his normally rigid shoulders. I sat down in front of him and watched as he heaved an overpowering sigh.

_I kind of expected this but a little part of me wishes it hadn't been this way. _He muttered,_ Though, I expected to feel ten times worse than I do now..._

_That's good... right?_

_I suppose. But Momo is... she's..._

_She's free to start over, and she never has to deal with Aizen again._

He looked up at me, a bit shocked then he cracked a small smile. _That's the only good thing that came out of it._ He wiped a tear from his cheek before it dripped down to his chin. _Aizen's days are numbered._

I grinned slightly, but a sudden loud noise drew my attention away from my inner world.

"I can't believe that guy!" the office door slammed open and Ichigo barged in. If steam could have come out of his ears right now it would have; he looked like an enraged bull.

"What happened?" Mikami asked, frowning.

"The bastard is still needling me to become a captain. As soon as he realised that Hyōka was unfit to take the position he turned to me."

"Well, you were his first choice until Hyōka came around." Rangiku tried to placate him.

"He already knows why I can't take the position! We've been through this a thousand times before. And how the hell did he even expect Hyōka to be a captain anyway?"

"He's just doing what he thinks is best for the Soul Society."

"By plotting to force a human child into captaincy?"

Rangiku sighed.

"I thought he agreed not to," Mikami growled.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow and turned to her. "He's not giving up that easily. We have three months until we fight Aizen and he wanted to know if I thought that if it was possible for Hyōka to regain all of Toushiro's powers by then."

"But he told us that he can't involve humans in the war."

"He makes exceptions sometimes; I was one, Hyōka's another. He wants him to train under one of the other captains for the time being as a sort of apprentice/ mock-captain."

Mikami clenched her jaw. "And what did you tell him."

"I told him that he's damn well crazy if he thinks that will happen."

"Those exact words?" I asked.

"Of course."

I shook my head.

Kiskue chuckled and stepped forward. He placed him empty cup of sake on the desk then turned to Ichigo. "Good, for once you managed to do something productive while angered."

He ignored him and turned on Rangiku; his eyes flashed in anger. "And what the hell is up with the new _shinigami_?"

She stiffened, "It's what's best for the Soul Society that matters-"

Ichigo cut her off with a snort, "And I suppose what's best is taking _shinigami_ from the academy who haven't even learnt _shikai_ yet? What do you guys hope to accomplish with this? Half the force are still walking around with _asauchi _!"

_I was wondering about that myself_, Toushiro interjected,_ most of the new recruits don't have half the spiritual pressure needed to become full-fledged shinigami. They still feel like students or souls fresh from the Rukongai._

_They're normal pluses?!_ I exclaimed in shock.

_No, they're not that weak, but it feels like they've only gotten half the training required at the academy. _

_Isn't that more a hindrance than anything else?_

_...Yes._

I frowned and turned back to the conversation.

"We need numbers; it's the only way we can hope to stand up against Aizen. I hope you know that he's been creating hollow and _arrancar_ like mad; he still out numbers us five to one-"

"This isn't right and you know it, Rangiku. These so called soldiers will be nothing more than shark bait; they're going to be killed within seconds on the battle field."

"No, I don't like it anymore than you do, Ichigo, but there is no other way-"

"If you think that this is the only way then you guys are no better than Aizen."

Rangiku glared at him but did not say a word.

"What I really don't understand is that this has been going on for a while now and none of you, not even Rukia, thought of saying any of this to me." He turned to Kisuke, "And I'm sure you knew of this as well."

"Well technically yes-"

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Because you would have acted like this," Kisuke sighed, "we need all the help we can get to defeat Aizen. If we can't fight as one because of a disagreement then we have no chance of defeating Aizen. You know this Ichigo. Yes, this may seem wrong but if everything goes according to plan none of the new _shinigami _will never even see the battle field."

He groaned and sunk onto the couch opposite Mikami and me. "This still isn't right. I can't let him send these people to war."

"Everyone's tried to talk him out of it; there's nothing you can do to change his mind." Rangiku said mournfully.

A sudden hush fell upon the room.

"I don't like the head-captain," I muttered at length.

Ichigo blinked then chuckled and leaned forward to ruffle my hair. "That's expected."

I batted his hand away and, for some reason, that caused Rangiku to giggle. "So how about we go grab something to eat then I can show you guys where you'll be staying?" she suggested.

...

It was way past sunset by the time Rangiky brought us to our rooms. I was dead tired; I barely had the energy to pull Hyourinmaru off my back. I forwent changing into the light sleeping _yutaka_ Rangiku had given me and dropped face first onto the futon in my uniform. I was asleep within seconds.

Morning came faster than I had thought it would; it felt like I had only gotten two or three hours rest. I groggily sat up rubbing my eyes. When I opened my eyes I saw that I was still dark out and huffed in annoyance.

_Hyōka,_ Toushiro's voice was urgent.

And then the rest of my body was suddenly wide awake. In the dark I could just make out three or so figures dressed in black clothes. I recognised the white _haori_ of a captain but the other two were wearing some sort of ninja outfits. I jumped up and went to grab Hyourinmaru from where I had placed him the night before but he wasn't there. The next thing I knew my hands were being forced behind my back by one of the ninjas and the captain came up to me. She was a small woman with short, black hair and narrow, grey eyes.

Hyourinmaru was growling in my head and Toushiro was somewhat bewildered.

_What is going on? _ I asked frantically.

_Soi Fon and the onmitsukido...what do they want?_

"Takemitsu Hyōka," Soi Fon spoke up, "You are under arrest."

My eyes bulged. "What? Why? For what?"

I began to struggle against the person holding my arms.

"As a human who obtained _shinigami_ powers you are to report to the Central Forty-six for trial."

"WHAT?" I yelled and struggled harder, "this is crazy; I haven't done anything! The hell kind of rules are these?"

"I'm under direct orders from Central Forty-six; do not resist."

"Do not resist my ass!" I kicked the guy holding me. I released a little of my _reiatsu_ and the temperature inside the room dropped a little.

_Hyōka, no!_

Soi Fon scowled and then suddenly I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness. My limbs grew heavy and the room spun around me. I felt the ninja hoist me over his shoulder and before I was knocked out completely I felt him jump into a _shunpo_.

...

My neck was bent in a very uncomfortable position and I was sitting in a cold, hard chair. I raised my head and blinked a few times trying to regain my bearings. My arms and feet were bound to the chair and I was sitting in the middle of a round chamber. Surrounding me was a high wooden desk; it looked almost like a circular judge's stand. In fact, I felt like I was in the centre of a coliseum since sitting there and looking at me with disconcerting, emotionless expressions were a bunch of stuffy looking old people. Each one of them was looking down at me like I was an annoying fly that they wanted to squish – or have a servant do it for them.

I chewed my bottom lip, almost too afraid to speak. This was Central Forty-six, the group of people who Kisuke had warned me about and had expressly forbidden me to offend. Yet, here I was arrested by them. I shouldn't be making things worse for myself so I sat quietly and tried to ignore the bubbling feeling in my stomach and the cold sweat dripping down my temples and back. Damn, I really couldn't stay out of trouble, could I?

A man that reminded me of a parrot tapped a small stack of paper against the desk and cleared his throat.

"Now we will commence the trial of Hitsugaya Toushiro and Takemitsu Hyōka versus The _Seireitei_."

Suddenly I felt a panic attack building in my chest.

* * *

**Yes I know it's still a bit short, but the next chapter will be much longer; I have a lot of stuff to explain why the Central 46 kidnapped Hyoka then put him on trial for one. **

**I mentioned before that the Gotei 13 had changed in the 13 years after the Winter War and there you have it. It's now a mass production Soul Reaper company but I have my reasons so make sure to stay tuned for them :P**

**And please don't be too angry that I killed Momo... My excuse is to add motive to Toushiro and Hyoka to hate Aizen... because they didn't already have enough of that. Anyway, that was how I originally planned it and I even almost wrote a version of the chapter where she didn't die but in the end I had to stick to my original outline (which surprisingly I haven't deviated from at all)**

**Sorry and I understand if you want to send hate mail.**

**But if you do you might as well couple it with a nice, rounded review **

**-Mymomomo**


	35. Chapter 35

**Yay, the wait wasn't too long this time was it :D... I tried.**

**Also, I'm heading back to school this week and hopefully I'll be getting a job as well, kind of a win-lose situation, but fear not I do intend on completing this story no matter how long it takes. **

**And to my lone guest reviewer, Alex, if your offer still stands, I'd be glad to take you up on it. Unfortunately I don't have Kik, but I can drop off an email if you'd be so kind as to give me your address. :)**

**Anyway be warned this chapter has been proofed but not beat'd.**

* * *

Forty-six old men and women stared down their noses at me. Kisuke was right; they were a bunch of old snobs. At least half of them looked like they had a pile of dog crap permanently stuck under their nose and each one of them seemed to be disgusted with me. I probably would have curled in on myself if my arms and legs hadn't been strapped to the chair. I had been looked down on before, but never to this extent; I felt like an animal on display and not a particularly attractive one at that.

The butterflies in my stomach felt more like dragons and I was all too aware of beads of sweat forming on my face, under my arms, and on my back. I tried to swallow, but my throat had gone dry and every single muscle in my body had frozen. However, my heart was thudding away; I was surprised that no one else could hear it.

"How did you obtain _shinigami_ powers?" the first question was like a gunshot to the head.

I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out except a faint, breathless whoosh.

_Hyōka, calm down, _Toushiro said, his voice was level; he was the epitome of self control, _Just answer their questions. You've done nothing wrong; there is nothing that they can possibly pin on you._

I nodded mentally.

"Perhaps you do not understand the question," the man with thin, arched eyebrows and a wispy, grey beard continued, "I will rephrase it. Which _shinigami_ gave you their powers?"

I swallowed, "N-no one gave me their powers," there was a slight tremble in my voice, "they are my own; I developed them myself."

"Impossible," a woman with a tight bun and half-moon glasses exclaimed, "the boy is lying; there has never been any instances where a human has developed spiritual powers on their own. Who did you steal this power from?"

"I didn't steal it from anyone!" I exclaimed clutching the arms of the chair so hard my knuckles turned white.

"He's telling the truth."

I blinked hard then slowly turned to my right. There was a tall man in _shinigami_ uniform, but he was wearing a sort of veil that prevented me from seeing his face.

"Neither his body nor his _reiatsu_ shows evidence of lying."

So this guy was some sort of live lie detector. This would be helpful, I guess.

"What is your relationship with the deceased Captain Hitsugaya?"

"I'm his reincarnation."

"This is why you have his _reiatsu_ signature?"

"Yes..."

"And not because you stole his powers before he died?"

I stared at the questioner, "I could not have possibly stolen his powers before he died."

"Why is that?"

"Because I wasn't born yet! I'm his reincarnation and nothing more."

The man raised an eyebrow, "Nothing more than a reincarnation? Are you entirely sure about this?"

"... Yes."

"He lies."

My eyes widened and I turned to look at the _shinigami_. I guess it wasn't such a good thing after all. A smug look passed along more than half of the Central.

"What are you, Takemitsu Hyōka?"

"I- I ... I don't know."

"You don't know?" they turned to the _shinigami_ next to me.

"He doesn't know."

Multiple pairs of eyes narrowed.

"Why was Aizen Sosuke interested you?"

I took in a sharp breath; how did they know about that?

"I... I don't know."

"He does know."

"Do you understand the gravity of this situation, boy? We can have you executed; tell us what you know or suffer the consequences."

_Toushiro?_

_Tell them what they need to know and keep the visored part to yourself._

"He wanted to know what happened to cause me to retain Toushiro's memories..."

There was a quiet murmur amongst a few of the councilmen.

"Was he successful?"

I blinked, each question was throwing me further and further into a place where I did not want to be. "Um...I- I- I'm not too sure..."

"What are you sure of, boy?" one of the men spat.

I swallowed and looked on nervously. They seemed to have lost interest in asking me questions and were now discussing something among themselves. It did nothing for my nerves; any more questions and I was positive that I would have a panic attack. Minutes ticked sluggishly by and I studied each one of the councilmen and women's faces. They gave nothing away, however, so I was sentenced to sit in silent dread.

Eventually the man with the glasses cleared his throat again. "The fact that Aizen had an interest in you says that you have to potential to be dangerous. Now we will ask again; what was he hopping to get out of you?"

"I d-d-d-don't kn-" I cut myself off with a glance at the veiled _shinigami_, "He said something about harnessing my powers."

"What powers?"

I paused, "Toushiro's powers."

The man narrowed his eyes but he did not ask anything else. Instead he turned to the person next to him – a man with a pointed, black goatee – and whispered something into his ear. They both nodded and the bearded man opened his mouth to speak. My stomach began to churn on the first syllable.

"How did he plan to do so?"

My eyes widened and my mouth went dry. Instantly I felt red, hot fire coursing through my body. I must have been silent for quite some time because the man scowled at me and banged his fist on the desk to get my attention.

"Answer the question, boy."

My breathing became short and shallow. "He... h-he manipulated m-my thoughts and in-injected me with some poison."

"What thoughts did he make you have?"

I licked my lips and felt tears prickle my eyes. "He... He tried to m-make me a-a-angry."

"Angry? What kinds of powers do you posses?"

I was hyperventilating now. "I-I-I can w-wield the _zanpakuto_ Hy-h-hyourinmaru."

"And what else?"

"Nothing else!"

I did not need to look or even listen to know that the veiled _shinigami_ had identified my lie.

"What else?" the councilman asked again.

"T-t-that's it."

He sighed deeply, "We have ways of extracting information; you could choose to make this easy for yourself."

I clenched my jaw despite the panic that was threatening to burst from my chest. "If you torture me that makes you no better than Aizen."

"We never said that we were better than Aizen; we're just on different sides. It is our job to maintain the balance of the worlds and anything that threatens it is directly our business. The Central Forty-six has done its job faultlessly up to this point and not a single one of us sitting here will allow everything the Soul Society, The _Gotei_ Thirteen, and the Soul King has strived for to be destroyed by such a small thing such as questioning ethics. We will get this information from you by any means necessary."

_Bastards,_ Toushiro growled.

The councilman nodded and the veiled _shinigami_ grasped one of my hands in his. He forced my hand open and pressed it down on the chair palm up.

My eyes widened even further and I tried to struggle against him but the bounds around my wrists and his strength proved me fruitless. I couldn't hold back the panic attack anymore the world was spinning around me; I felt light headed and I couldn't catch my breath.

"Now, why was Aizen Sosuke interested in you? What powers do you posses?"

"I already told you!"

There was a glint of steal and I felt a searing, burning sensation in my palm. I screamed and struggled against the bindings. "I don't know what else he wanted! I swear that was it!"

The veiled _shinigami_ grasped my other hand. I swear I saw Aizen's face and I could feel him injecting the poison into me again. Hyourinmaru roared in anger while I saw Toushiro sink to his knees and clutch his head.

"No! No! That's it; I told you everything!"

The same pain repeated itself and I screamed so loud that it echoed around the room.

"Answer the question."

"I already did!"

The knife was suddenly at my throat. I froze and looked at the man's covered face. Tears caused me to see blurry and my heart was beating so fast I thought that it would explode. But then I felt a sort of internal shudder; I instantly knew something was wrong.

Toushiro screamed and curled into himself. When he looked up his eyes were gold and lifeless. I glanced to Hyourinmaru and the two of us seemed to have the same idea. I threw myself at him and managed to knock him over. Hyourinmaru growled and placed a scaly foot over his chest.

_Toushiro, snap out of it! _I yelled into his face.

The hollow growled at me but he couldn't get past Hyourinmaru's hold.

"_If they find us out they'll kill us!"_

He continued to glare at me and my inner world started to get dark. Clouds began to form and snow started to fall from the sky. I looked around, starting to feel panicky again; this was not going to end well if we continued like this.

"His _reiatsu_ is changing," the veiled _shinigami_ spoke.

_Shit._

"Changing into what?"

"What is the meaning of this?" a familiar, booming voice sounded simultaneously with the banging open of heavy wood and steal doors. Every head to turn towards the entrance as three people burst in as if the hounds of hell were on their tails.

I didn't think that I would have ever been happy to see Yamamoto, but I could have cried out of relief right about now. Right behind him was Ichigo and Kisuke. The former looked like he was out for blood and Kisuke was unreadable as usual.

Ichigo locked eyes with me and was at my side in a heartbeat.

"Hyōka! What did you do to him, bastards?!"

And of course the hollow decided not to let us forget about him. I felt my fingers go cold and a cackle that could curdle milk rose up in my chest. Thankfully before anything else could happen a heavy hand was placed over my eyes and I felt every single ounce of energy drain from my body.

...

My hands were itchy. I flexed my fingers; it stung a bit but it helped the itching. I had woken up a few minutes ago in a hospital, of course. I was still in The _Seireitei_;I noticed _shinigami_ hustling around and I spied a woman with a thick, brown plait wrapped around her neck and a white _haori_ coming over to me. I pushed myself up onto my elbows and followed her with my gaze until she was at my bedside.

"Hello, Hyōka-kun," she said with a smile, "how are you feeling?"

I blinked. "And you are?"

If she was taken aback by my bluntness she hid it well. "I'm Captain Unohana; Captain of the Fourth Division."

As she spoke she reached out and placed a hand on my forehead.

"What am I doing here?" I asked and brushed her hand away.

"Resting; you've had a long few days."

I huffed and plopped back down on the pillows. I was about to ask where the others were when I heard my sister calling out my name. I shot back up just in time to see her run up to my bedside. She looked out of breath and her eyes were wide with... fear?

"Hyōka!" she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a tight hug.

"It's okay, Mikami, I'm fine," I muttered and hugged her back.

She held on to me a bit longer then pulled back and held me at arm's length. "What did they do to you?"

I glanced down at my hands but almost instantly realised my mistake and pulled my arms behind my back. She raised an eyebrow and grabbed one of my arms and yanked it towards her. A thick piece of gauze was wrapped around my palm. She clicked her tongue and pulled it back to inspect the wound underneath it. It wasn't really a wound anymore, actually, my eyebrows raised as I saw a pink scar running diagonally across my palm – another one to add to my collection – it was mostly healed and very itchy. I glanced towards Unohana. She just smiled at me and nodded her head.

"Is your other hand like this?" I froze at Mikami's tone. It was quiet and a little too emotionless for my liking. I nodded and winced as she sighed deeply and hung her head.

"Mikami?"

"I can't take this anymore," she raised her head and there were tears in her eyes, "Every time I think we're going to be alright something like this happens. We shouldn't be tied up in this; I don't want to be scared of you dying any given moment, Hyōka. I can't do this anymore."

I tried not to look too shocked but I don't think I succeeded. This time I pulled her into a hug and let her cry into my shoulder. I couldn't say anything to comfort her; I didn't know where to begin. I knew this was going to come up sooner or later; Mikami had always been paranoid about my safety and all of this must have been just as hard for her as it was for me.

"Hey you're awake," Ichigo came bounding into the room but froze when he saw Mikami, "Um, Mikami, what's wrong?"

She stiffened at his question, drew away from me, and wiped her eyes. "It's this place; we shouldn't have come."

Ichigo clenched his jaw and let out a sharp breath. "Yeah, I know."

"What happened back there?" I asked, "What did you guys do?"

"Yama-ji was really pissed that they took you without him knowing. Can't say that he's changed his mind about anything but he didn't want them dealing with you like that. It was surprisingly easy to get you out of there; he just had to stay back and clear some things up with them. We'll have to discuss this later, though. Is he clear to go, Unohana?"

The captain had faded into the background, as good doctors sometimes did. She nodded but stopped me as I was hopping of the bed.

"I can remove the scars for you if you'd like, Hyōka-kun."

I looked down at my hands wrapped in gauze and hesitated. I felt a dull anger build in my stomach. "Actually, no thanks; I'll keep these."

Both Ichigo and Mikami raised their eyebrows, but Unohana nodded her head in understanding. I jumped off the bed and strapped back on my shoes.

"Why?" Ichigo asked as we left the hospital ward.

I clenched my fists and walked ahead. "As a reminder."

"A reminder of what?" Mikami asked her voice was full of rage, "Of what they did to you?"

"No. To remind me that the good guys aren't always so good."

...

"I would like to apologise on behalf of the Central Forty-six," Yamamoto sighed, "they acted wrongly and did not consult me before sending the Second Division Captiain, Soi Fon, to apprehend you. I am sorry for what transpired in their presence."

I still didn't like Yamamoto, but I liked the Central even less. I nodded but didn't say anything else. Once again Ichigo, Kisuke, Mikami and I stood in the meeting hall.

"We explained to them your situation and they have agreed to give you a choice."

I raised an eyebrow; how gracious of them. Of course they only listened to my end of the story after they had their way with me. Toushiro snorted from his position in the snow. He was lying on his back looking worse for wear with Hyourinmaru curled around him.

"You can either join forces with us and fight alongside with us as a substitute _shinigami_ or you can return to the world of the living and never associate yourself with the Soul Society again."

"No offense, but the first option doesn't sound that much appealing," I snapped.

"If you do end up choosing the second option I would like to make it clear that it means that you will not be allowed to further your powers."

"What?"

"That is you will be forbidden to learn _shikai_ or _bankai_ or any other _shinigami_ arts which you haven't already learnt."

I stared at him and tried not to let my anger show too much; again I don't think I was too successful.

"Is that your idea of trying to control me?"

"What is your answer?"

I turned around and made for the exit. "I'm done with you people."

"Hyōka, don't make any rash decisions," Kisuke stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. I glared at him and he hesitated then nodded. "Well, I think you have your answer, Head-captain. We'll be on our way now; thanks for the hospitality."

I could hear the sarcasm in Kisuke's voice and cracked a smile as we left.

...

"Are you guys leaving now?" Rangiku asked with a pout.

"Not at this very minute," Kisuke admitted.

"'Cause there are a few people who wanted to see Hyōka."

"See me?" I asked with raised eyebrows, "I'm not some kind of freak show, you know."

Rangiku smiled at me and patted my head. "Come on; they've been waiting since you've got here to meet you."

Minutes later she was leading us to the Thirteenth Division –us being everyone except Kisuke, who had disappeared again. I was more aware of the _reiatsu_ of the _shinigami_ around me, even if Toushiro was still dozing off, and Ichigo was right; they were all weak. Well, not all of them were weak more like one in every five. They really must be desperate to beat Aizen, huh. I guess, if he had put them all through the same shit he had put me through then I understood why, but it still didn't feel right. I sighed inwardly actually if my treatment was any indication the Central Forty-six had probably made it so that none of these _shinigami_ were prepared in any sort of way. These people weren't fit to be in charge of anything; they just seemed to mess things up. I felt my palms start to itch again and I grit my teeth and managed to pinch my tongue in the process which caused my scowl to deepen.

"Hey, what cha' thinking about so hard?" Rangiku asked.

I jumped slightly. "Nothing."

"Hmm, must be some pretty important nothing," she grinned.

"How much longer until we get there?"

"We just passed the main gates so we're almost there. They're waiting in Captain Ukitake's office."

"Ukitake..." I paused remembering the sickly man with long, white hair and kind, brown eyes. The memory almost made me smile, but instead I opted for feeling inexplicably nervous.

Either I had made a face or Ichigo had gotten to know me really well because he placed a hand on my back and gently pushed me forward.

"He's not going to eat you, kid; might give you candy, but he won't bite."

I glanced up at him and rolled my eyes. Minutes later Rangiku was knocking on a door.

"Captain Ukitake?" she called out.

A deep, slightly breathless voice bid us enter and she slid back the door and pushed me in first. Sitting on a lavish, red cushion behind a low table was Ukitake. I froze as he studied me for a short while. His appearance was overall the same from Toushrio's memories but he looked more rundown somehow; there were a few wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and he seemed to have lost a lot of weight. His smile though, when it grew on his face, was exactly the same; warm. The grin split his face from check to check and was contagious soon everyone in the room was smiling along with him. He beckoned me closer and when I was close enough he pulled me into a one armed hug.

"I never thought that this was possible," he grinned, "I'm happy to see you again."

"Likewise, Ukitake," I replied.

"It's good to see you Shiro-chan," a different voice alerted me to another person in the room; a man with curly, brown hair and a pink _kimono_ over his _haori_ sat across from Ukitake.

"Kyoraku?"

He grinned, "You do remember me after all."

I nodded, "what's with the eye patch? I don't remember you having that."

He touched the black piece of leather that covered his right eye. "Battle scar," he stated simply.

"Hyōka," Mikami admonished, "don't be rude."

Both captains turned to face my sister.

"Oh, where are my manners," Ukitake chuckled, "My name is Ukitake Jushiro captain of the Thriteenth Division," he held out his hand to Mikami, "And this is my friend-"

"Kyoraku Shunsui and may I seek the pleasure of knowing your name, darling?"

She blushed slightly. "Takemitsu Mikami."

"A gift from the gods indeed,"

I saw were this was going and before Kyoraku could say anything else I cut in. "She's my _sister_."

Both Ichigo and Rankigu sighed while Kyoraku shrugged.

"Worth a shot," he muttered.

Ukitake then offered us some tea.

"I don't have any candy on me at this moment," he told me, "But I can send for some."

"No that's alright don't trouble yourself; I don't really like-"

"Nonsense, it's no trouble at all."

"So Hyōka-kun, is it?" Kyoraku started.

I nodded.

"Hyōka-kun, how are you enjoying the _Seireitei_ so far?"

"To be honest, I haven't really gotten the best impression of it."

The two captains chuckled.

"That sounds about right, huh Ichigo?"

The red-head snorted and rolled his eyes. "It's gotten worse since I was last here."

Ukitake sighed heavily, "I wish you could have said the opposite. The Head-captain is refusing to consult his morals."

"But couldn't you two talk to him? This is crazy; he can't mass-produce soldiers!"

"We've tried, Ichigo. We even refused to take any of the new soldiers into our squads."

"There's a but..." it was more of a statement than a question.

"Apparently, that kind of thing can put you on probation," Kyoraku finished.

"At least this way we can personally train any of these soldiers who end up in our squads. It's not much, but it will be better than sending them to war without even knowing how to release their _zanpakuto_."

"Most of the captains have set up programs within their squads to help the new _shinigami_," Rangiku added.

Ichigo sighed, "it still doesn't feel right."

"That's because it isn't," Ukitake said gruffly, "I wanted to fight more against it, but in the end I didn't have enough energy and the little I can do for them now is still better than losing my captaincy and not being able to do anything."

There was a thoughtful silence as each of us thought about this. It was a horrible, horrible thing that Yamamoto and Central Forty-six were doing but these two here in front of me were making the best out of a bad situation. I took a sip of my tea, rolling it around my mouth before swallowing.

"Now enough of this dreary topic," Kyoraku said while adjusting his sleeves, "we have a lot of catching up to do, Hyōka-kun; tell us about yourself."

"Um..."

"He's actually quite similar to Toushiro, actually," Ichigo saved me, "personality wise, not just appearances. It's been a nightmare trying to take care of him."

Mikami chuckled, "you don't even know the half of it."

I rolled my eyes as the rest of them laughed.

"Well, raising children is no walk in the park, after all." Ukitake said smiling.

"Yeah well, he's scared me off from ever having kids of my own."

"It's probably best that you don't reproduce anyway," I stuck my tongue out at Ichigo.

The rest of the evening was spent sharing embarrassing stories – most about me courtesy of Mikami – and drinking tea. Toushiro was on the brink of falling asleep and Hyourinmaru was gently vibrating the ground with a content hum. When it was time to leave I almost didn't want to go. If the _Gotei_ Thirteen still had captains like these two maybe it wasn't doomed after all.

...

I had fallen asleep somewhere between waiting for Kisuke at the _Senkaimon_ and wishing everyone goodbye – we had taken two more stops to see Rukia and Renji. I had also met two more _shinigami_ ; Izuru Kira and Hisagi Shuhei. That's all I remembered before waking up to the sight of yellow curtains blowing in the early morning wind. For a minute I was confused but then I recognised my bedroom. Then I realised how long it was since I had been back at our apartment. I stood up and slowly walked around the room. Everything looked it same; it was weird how so much had changed for me yet nothing had really changed at all. All my books were neatly stacked on a shelf in the corner, my desk held a multitude of text books that I was never going to use again, and there wasn't even a speck of dust anywhere. The same blue and yellow sheets covered my bed and my stuffed Hyourinmaru looked strangely at home amongst them. Even the wall that was blasted open with _kido_ was-

I cut my self off and sank back down onto my bed. That was the last time I had been in here; before Aizen had taken me. So much had happened after that... I ran a hand through my still short hair and rubbed at the scars on my palms. I had changed so much and the room was just a reminder of simpler times which I couldn't go back to. I felt tears prickle my eyes and didn't even try to stop them.

Honestly, what was I doing right now? Where was I going? Aizen had abducted me right from this very spot and had tried to manipulate my hollow powers; he had tortured me. The tears ran faster. I had held on to the fact that someone was coming for me and there were good people in this world that would stop him. Now I had met the good people and they had kidnapped me as well, bound me to a chair, and sliced open my hands all because they wanted my powers as well. Who the hell could I trust then? If both sides wanted to exploit my powers who could I turn to? I closed my eyes and buried my face into my hands. Serves me right for trusting someone else. That was why I never relied on anyone else; it always blew up in my face when I did.

"Hyōka?" there was a knock on my door, "is everything alright?"

I hurriedly wiped my eyes and cleared my throat. "Yeah."

My door opened and Teito slowly entered. "Everything doesn't look like it's alright," he sighed and sat down next to me, "What's wrong?"

I hung my head, "It's nothing."

He raised an eyebrow. "Nothing?"

"I'll be fine; just give me a minute."

He shook his head, "They told me what happened in the Soul Society. Are you sure you don't need to talk?"

"I'll be fine," I repeated.

"What if I don't want you to be just fine? I want you to be feeling outstanding like there's nothing wrong."

"Well there is, sorry I can't be happy-go-lucky like you," I didn't mean to snap and winced when he looked at me with exasperation.

"I just want to help, Koko-chan."

"I thought the Soul Society was going to help and look what happened!"

"I'm not them," he stated simply, "and neither is your sister nor Ichigo or Kisuke for that matter. We all genuinely want to help you so please don't mix us up with anyone who hurt you."

I flopped backwards onto the bed and closed my eyes again. Teito was right, of course, but that still didn't mean I wanted to talk about it.

He seemed to have read my mind, "I know you'll take your time in coming to any one of us, but when you do we'll all be happily waiting. Now come," he poked me in the stomach, "help me make breakfast before Mikami wakes up."

* * *

**And so concludes the Soul Society part next is visored training :D pshh if you actually thought that Hyoka would listen to Yamamoto's warning then either you haven't been paying attention to the story or I haven't gotten Hyoka's character across. Either way he's once again disregarding the rules surprise surprise. **

**So feel free to drop a review now that you're here**

**-Mymomomo**


	36. Chapter 36

**Hi again everyone, sorry for the long wait. This semester is looking up to be very hectic, but I'll try to do the best I can. **

**Anyway I got some really encouraging reviews last time and I just want to say thank you to everyone who is reading this - even if you don't review - it really means a lot when I see that people are enjoying my work.**

**Again this chapter has been proofed but not beta'd**

**Enjoy regardless :)**

* * *

"Why is this taking so long?" I demanded as I scuffed my shoes on the ground.

"There are other customers, Koko-chan," Teito told me while rubbing his forehead, "be patient."

"There's still two months before the wedding; why are you ordering a cake now?"

"I already told you we're not placing the order yet; we're just here to see what kind of cake he has and to finalise the menu for the reception."

I scowled and turned my gaze to Mikami and Kamiko. They were going over a menu hanging up on the wall next to a large display booth.

"Look, I know you don't want to be here, but when you have 150 people on your guest list then you kinda need to find out a way to feed them all."

I sighed, "Weddings are too much work; I don't think I'll ever get married."

He chuckled, "You never know; you could meet the right girl and fall head over heels in love with her. The wedding won't seem like so much work after that."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah sure."

Soon after that a portly man in a baker's uniform came out to meet us. The next hour or so was spent discussing what was going to be on the reception menu. I was bored out of my mind, but at least we got free samples.

Next we went to the florist where Teito took a back seat and let the two women handle everything. I can't say I blamed him; picking out flowers wasn't exactly my cup of tea, or his, for that matter. Afterwards we had to go to the printers and pick up the invitations and envelopes. Then we had one more stop before heading over to Kamiko's house to address and seal the invitations; they would be mailed tomorrow.

Kamiko lived in a moderately sized apartment, but she had accumulated a lot of 'stuff' for the wedding so her home had began to take on the look of a thrift store. I sat down next to a pile of tiny, white boxes tied with red ribbons and tried not to knock them over as Mikami followed Kamiko into the kitchen and Teito took a seat on the edge of the coffee table.

"Hyōka, are you good with your hands?" Kamiko asked as she returned from the kitchen carrying a bag of small red bows.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Can you stick these on to the envelops?"

I glanced to the large stack of envelops on the coffee table and sighed inwardly. "Sure."

"Great, my sisters should be here in a short while to help."

I knew Kamiko came from a pretty large family; four sisters and three brothers to be precise. I had met them all briefly before, but I had a feeling that I would be seeing a lot more of them during these months to come.

...

" Hyōka, wake up,"

I groaned and pulled my covers over my head.

"Oh no, you don't," Mikami yanked the comforter away from me. "We need to leave in half an hour; get up."

I scowled at her and sat up.

"Come on," she ruffled my hair as she left the room.

I guess waking up wouldn't have been such a problem if I hadn't been up most of the night talking to Toushiro. He had been worried about the hollow. I knew I was going to start learning to control it soon, but he wasn't sure if he could hold on for much longer. Ever since the visit to the Soul Society he had felt his control slipping – I mean, I felt it too. Being agitated was very tiresome, but I hadn't been pushing too hard for the training to start. A few days of doing nothing were more than welcome after the rollercoaster ride from hell these past few months had been.

I stifled a yawn and headed towards the bathroom.

"Where are we going today?" I asked as I passed by Teito.

"To set up the gift registry," he answered, "But Ichigo offered to babysit you for the day so you don't have to come with us if you don't want to."

"You know saying the word babysit makes me want to come with you," I rolled my eyes.

He shrugged, "It's your choice, Koko-chan."

"Ichigo's it is then."

"I thought so; Kamiko's sisters are coming with us today."

I winced, "What kind of family are you marrying in to? I hope she doesn't want a lot of kids."

He shrugged again, "It might be nice to have a big family."

I raised an eyebrow, "I think you're losing it, Teito."

"Twenty minutes, Hyōka," Mikami called from the kitchen.

...

"How's the hollow holding up?"

I glanced at Ichigo over the top of the book I was reading. "Toushiro's doing his best, but he's been sapping up all of my energy trying to keep it at bay."

Ichigo sighed, "I think it's time we paid Shinji a visit."

I let out a deep breath.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow, "You nervous or something?"

"Maybe,"

"It's nothing to be ashamed off. Hollows are scary creatures especially the ones living inside of you. I was scared shitless of my own inner hollow for a while."

"Really?"

"Oh sure _that_ puts a spark in your eyes. But yes, I was scared that if I didn't control him he would take me over a kill everyone I love."

I blinked; Ichigo and I weren't that different when you actually thought about it.

"You'll be fine, kid."

I nodded, "I'll hold you to that, Kurosaki."

He chuckled, "we'll head over to Shinji's after lunch."

I instantly felt nervous. What if I couldn't control the hollow after all, what if it ended up killing me?

_Hyōka calm down_, Toushiro sighed, _no one will let you die._

I took a deep breath.

_You have Hyourinmaru to help you, remember?_

The dragon puffed out his chest,_ don't worry Hatchling, I'll protect you._

I believed him, but I knew that this was not going to be an easy task. Even with Hyourinmaru's help I didn't think that I could ever beat a Hollow who had been a captain-class _shinigami_ and deep down I think Toushiro knew this too.

"Ichigo?" I asked after a short pause.

"hmm?" he had picked up the newspaper and was scanning an article.

"I'll become a hollow if I can't control it, right?"

He hesitated and put the paper to a side. "Um... well yes."

"And you'll have to kill me if I do?"

He didn't answer but stared at me for a while.

I took a deep breath, "I don't think I'm ready to do this."

His eyebrows shot up into his forehead. "What? Not ready? I thought you couldn't wait to control your hollow."

"I... I ... The hollow's still so much stronger than me."

He frowned at me, "That's not the real problem is it?"

"Huh?"

"Takemitsu Hyōka, since when do you give up because something seems hard?"

"All the time."

He snorted, "Which is why you went behind everyone's backs to find out what we were trying to hide from you and disregarded your own safety to get to the bottom of things? I know all of this is scary but if you were the type to give up you wouldn't be here right now. So, I don't believe for a second that you don't want to do this training just because your inner-hollow scares you."

I hung my head. I was scared of the hollow, of dying, and leaving everyone behind. Ichigo, was right, however, if I was hesitant to do this just because I was scared then I should have stopped before I became a _shinigami_.

After I become a _visored_ the next step would be to fight and kill Aizen. If I managed that then what? Would I have to turn to the Soul Society – the same people who had almost tortured me? With Aizen gone they would have full control over everything... I wasn't saying that I wanted Aizen to win – god no, that evil bastard deserved death – but I wasn't sure that I wanted the Soul Society to win either. After what I had seen them do, both to me and to their own people, I wasn't sure what would happen when Aizen was gone.

"Hyōka? What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Hey, talk to me."

"I'm fine, Kurosaki."

"No you're not," he reached out and grabbed one of my arms. He placed it down on the table palm up so that my scar was visible. "If you were fine, then you would have had Unohana remove these. You're holding a grudge, Hyōka, a grudge against your allies."

"They're not my _allies_," I spat before I could stop myself.

Ichigo blinked then let out a long winded sigh, "What they did to you was wrong, Hyōka, I'm not going to deny that, but we need their help. Trust me I hate what Yama-ji and Central Forty-six is doing just as much as you and I haven't always agreed with their rules and regulations."

I snorted, "they didn't ever arrest you did they?"

"They tried, and they almost executed Rukia for something that wasn't her fault. I know how you feel about them."

I frowned, "They almost executed Rukia?"

He ran a hand through his hair, "That was a long time ago and how we found out about Aizen in the first place; it's a really long story. I'll have to tell you about it some time; remind me. But the point is Aizen is our enemy and the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"Machiavelli," I sighed. Did I really hate Aizen more than I wanted to disassociate myself with the Soul Society? Of course, that wasn't even a question. "I suppose I can hate them all I want once Aizen is dead."

He chuckled, "When Aizen's dead, you can do anything you want."

I smiled a bit and withdrew my hand from the table. My smile faltered, however, as I saw the scar across my palm; I could not forget this. Ichigo placed a hand on my shoulder.

"You're a strong kid, Hyōka."

I glanced up at him my smile falling completely. "I don't feel like it."

He didn't say anything but squeezed my shoulder instead.

...

I felt drained by just looking at another desert-like training room. This time I was inside of an old warehouse instead of a basement, but the feeling was the same. Sunlight poured down and I felt beads of sweat start to form on the back of my neck. I briefly wondered if the artificial sunlight could give me sunburn; if so it seemed to be very counter-productive.

Toushrio snorted, _I think sunburn is the least of your problems._

I rolled my eyes; _if I end up dying from skin cancer then we'll see how much of a problem it is._

He shook his head while Hyourinmaru chuckled softly.

Ichigo placed a hand between my shoulder blades and guided me towards a group of strange looking people. But since everyone that had something to do with the Soul Society and such was strange I suppose that they were pretty normal looking people.

Seven people glared at the two of us as we walked up to them. If hostility had a corporal body it would have been dancing around the room at this point. And here I had been thinking that they were friends with Ichigo.

"Ichigo!" Shinji exclaimed walking up to us with a huge grin on his face. His hot pink tie was all that I could focus on as he came over, "I was wondering when you were going to show."

I blinked, so maybe they were just a hostile bunch of people.

"Hey Shinji, How've you been keeping?"

"Who's the pipsqueak?"

I turned to glare at a short girl with a snaggle tooth and sandy blond hair held up in two pig-tails.

"This is Hyōka, the one who you're supposed to be training," Shinji answered.

"Him? But he's just a kid! How the hell can he be _visored_?"

I scowled deeper. "I'm not a kid," I snapped.

She raised an eyebrow at me, "I don't like your tone. And you are a kid, I've never seen someone so short before and what's up with that ridiculous hair? You look like an old man."

I ground my teeth together. If she was the one training me then there was no way that I was going to go through with this. I'd prefer to let my hollow kill me.

"How can I look like a kid and an old man at the same time, idiot?"

"Who are you calling an idiot, pipsqueak?" she yelled suddenly centimetres from my face.

I grimaced and took a step back, "you, obviously."

She snarled and grabbed the front of my shirt, "Why you little-"

"That's enough you two," Shinji stepped between us.

The next thing I knew he was on the floor clutching a bleeding nose. The blond girl stood above him with one of her sandals in her hand.

"Don't tell me what to do!" she shouted.

I blinked; violent much?

After a quick introduction the _visored_ gave me a once over. I had never felt so exposed in my life. Afterwards Shinji pulled me to the side and glared down at me.

"Why are you here?"

"To learn how to control my hollow," was the scripted answer.

"Why are you really here?" he asked folding his arms across his chest.

I frowned, "What do you mean? I only have one reason for coming here and that's-"

"Because Ichigo made you."

I paused with my mouth half open.

"I can sense you're not ready to do this."

"How do you know? I _am_ ready."

"Oh really?" he grinned and the next thing I knew there was a hollow in my face.

I screamed and fell over backwards. Ichigo was by my side in a heartbeat.

"What the hell, Shinji?" he shouted.

With my heart still pounding as I realised that the hollow was actually Shinji with a mask on. He straightened up and his mask dissipated into thin air leaning behind a faint trail of black smoke.

"We're not training him," he stated and turned back to the other _visored_.

"What?" Ichigo snapped.

"Are you deaf, idiot? He said we're not training him," the blond girl cut in.

"Why?"

"He doesn't want to do it. Just look at him, Ichigo," Shinji sighed, "the boy clearly doesn't want to be here. I'm not going to force him into anything he doesn't want to do. Plus, it's dangerous to play with hollows especially if he isn't putting his all into it."

"Hyōka?" Ichigo turned to me.

I looked away, "I do want to control my hollow-"

The girl snorted, "How can you hope to control something that you're so scared of? Did you pee yourself when you screamed?"

I snarled at her.

"He has every right to be scared of his hollow," Ichigo snapped, "I was scared of mine, but you didn't turn me away."

Shinji sighed, "You were a different case. You may have been scared, but you were so ridiculously thick-headed that you honestly believed you could fight it and win. I don't think the kid here has your level of confidence."

Ichigo turned to me again, "Hyōka, you can beat this, you know it."

I looked away from him. Toushiro almost jumped at me for doing what I was about to do. Hyourinmaru stopped him but he still yelled at me and called me a bunch of rude names. I ignored him, though, and glanced from the _visored_ to Ichigo.

"He's right," I said at length, "I can't do this; let's go."

Ichigo's eyes bulged and his mouth dropped open. I turned to leave but he stopped me, "You can't do this? You do realise that if you don't your hollow will end up killing you."

I shrugged and walked past him.

"Hyōka, you have to do this!"

I clenched my jaw, "No! I don't _have _to do anything!"

Ichigo called after me but I had stormed off. I heard him sigh then follow me.

"He can come back when he's ready," Shinji called after us.

But honestly I didn't know if I'd ever be ready.

...

"Why?" Ichigo asked me on the way back to the clinic. He seemed pissed and was trying his best to hold it in but was failing for the most part. "Why do you keep on making such stupid decisions? If you wait any longer you could die, Hyōka! Do you not understand this?"

"I can't hope to ever control him, Ichigo."

"Yes, you can; you're just scared."

I rubbed my forehead, "No, I can't-"

"Yes-"

"No. You don't understand, Ichigo. My hollow is Toushiro – a captain class _shinigami_ – I haven't even gotten my _shikai_ yet. If I face him head on I have no living chance of winning."

"You don't know that..."

I sent him a withering glance, "The gap in our strength is too great; I've seen this from all the times he's come after me. I can hold him off, indefinitely, but at least I can. The way I see it; I'd rather postpone the inevitable for as long as I can rather than rushing it in the face and dying right then and there. It's more reasonable to want that, isn't it?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. In that moment he actually looked like the grief stricken adult he was supposed to be. "It may seem reasonable, but none of this is ever reasonable; hollows defy logic every day. There's no pattern, he could attack you tomorrow for all you know. And if not then maybe next week or next month. Would you really be content with just sitting and waiting for him to get you or would you rather stand up to him and go down fighting?"

...

_You Idiot!_ Toushiro yelled at me.

My inner-world was going crazy thanks to him. The beginnings of a heavy blizzard were howling around us.

_Do you know what you've just done?!_

I planted my feet in the snow and stared straight at him.

Toushiro growled and I could do nothing but stare as his eye began to change from teal to gold. His skin lightened dramatically until he looked like a ghost and sharpened teeth poked out from under pale lips. I felt my breath catch in my throat and my heart thudded heavily in my chest.

_So, you're on my side after all_, he grinned sadistically. _I'm still going to kill you, though._

I instantly took a step backwards. The hollow chuckled.

_It was smart of you to realise that you can't control me_, he hissed as he calmly came closer to me. I backed up again causing him to laugh._ You're just a scared, little thing aren't you? God, this is going to be so much fun._

I swallowed in effort to not bring up everything I had eaten for the past month and looked around for Hyourinmaru. The dragon was nowhere to be seen. I felt my heart stop and dread seeped into my bones. Where had he gone? He was supposed to protect me.

_It's just you and me in here,_ the hollow seemed to read my thoughts, _I'm not going to let him interfere this time. _

As he spoke I started to feel sick. No, he couldn't block out Hyourinmaru; that wasn't right. That wasn't-

An ice cold hand closed around my neck. I froze.

_Oh come on; it's no fun when you don't fight back._

I blinked, no fun, no... I couldn't breathe; the pressure on my throat was unbearable. I scrabbled at the hand around my neck. His skin was like marble, I swear.

_There we go,_ he smirked and tightened his hold.

It felt like my eyes were going to pop out of my head. I flailed around and aimed a few kicks at him. I caught him once or twice but he didn't as much as flinch. I was trapped; I was going to die at the hands of my inner-hollow – Toushiro – myself. I was pathetic, truly pathetic.

At the back of my mind there was a low growl.

Hyourinmaru?

_Don't you dare give up on me, Hatchling; we did not come all this way for this._

_How? I thought he –_

_I am you; no one can take that away. Now stop this madness and fight._

I felt my head start to swim and black spots were dancing around my vision. The hollow's demonic face swam in and out of focus, but instead of being afraid I began to feel angry. I clenched my fists around thin air, imagining that I was grasping Hyourinmaru's hilt. I felt the cool metal materialise in my palm and without a moment's hesitation I swung the blade at the hollow's abdomen.

Hyourinmaru sang happily; I felt his power move through me as he sliced through the air. Still, I did not expect that the sword would come into contact with the hollow. I felt the slightest resistance and then something akin to slicing through a slab of steak. The hollow's eyes went wide and he dropped me, jumping back and clutching his stomach. He stared from the blood seeping from in-between his fingers to me then the _zanpakuto _in my hands. An enraged sneer formed on his face and somehow he began to look less human-like. Creases formed in his brow and his mouth was pulled back impossibly wide – almost splitting his entire face in half. And I swear that horns were forming on top of his head.

I stood up straight, despite the pounding in my head and swimming vision, and brought Hyourinmaru up in front of me in a two handed grip. I actually surprised myself with how calm I was at this moment. My breaths were deep and even and as my head cleared bit by bit I found myself zoning in on the hollow and blocking out everything else.

The hollow and I locked eyes in a staring contest. One of us was going to have to make the first move. I adjusted my grip on Hyourinmaru, shifted my weight, and leapt at the hollow. I was aiming for his neck but he dodged at the last second and brought up his own newly materialised sword to block me.

A metallic clang resounded throughout my inner world in an almost melodious way. We jumped apart and stared at each other for a split second before coming back together with another clash of steel.

_I thought you were scared of me_, the hollow taunted.

I ignored him and swiped at his side. My blow was met and returned with almost double the force. I jumped back again before he could land the hit and slice me right in half.

I thought I had been scared of him too, but I was enjoying this inner calm and clear head. I attacked again. The hollow growled as he blocked me yet again.

_I've had enough of this. You might feel all good and confident now, but remember you're weak!_

He caught my blade in his left hand. The steel bit into his palm and I saw rivulets of blood flow from between his fingers and around his wrist. He didn't feel it from what I could see. All of a sudden I started to panic; the calm feeling fled me and I started to tremble. He yanked my sword away from me and flung it into the snow – my arms almost went flying with it.

Unarmed, I fell backwards into the snow and stared up at the hollow with wide eyes. He raised his cut hand to his mouth and licked the blood away; more still flowed, however. He leaned over me, crimson blood now dripping from his mouth, and pulled back his thin lips into a gleeful snarl. I scrambled backwards and readied myself to bolt.

Then... time stopped but seemed to speed up at the same time. I could hear my own heart beating loud and slow in my ears. Hyourinmaru let out an ear splitting roar full of pain and anger. My inner-world turned red and I think my vision went blank for a second. Pain erupted from my right leg and I realised that I was screaming along with Hyourinmaru.

I looked back up to the hollow to see him standing back looking impressed at his handy work. One arm was placed around his _zanpakuto's_ hilt. I followed the blade to where it was embedded deeply into my thigh. I was too scared to move, in too much pain to move. My leg was on fire I could feel it throbbing with more potency each second. A pool of bright red blood stained the snow around me and soaked into my pants.

The hollow laughed at my pain and leaned on the blade. I threw my head back and yelled in pain as I felt the razor-like edge slide through muscle and possibly knick bone. I heard the crunch as it slid out the back of my leg and into the snow. I thought things couldn't get any worse then he twisted the blade. I felt hot tears run down my face and pain flared through my whole body.

_I want you to remember this whenever you think of me,_ he sneered suddenly millimetres away from my ear. _ Remember this pain whenever you think about fighting me. You cannot win against me, Hyōka. And if you try this again I will crush you like the little insect you are._

He gave the blade a final shove and I heard the distinctive sound of snapping metal. I blinked in confusion until I saw him straighten holding just the hilt and about six jagged inches of blade of his sword. The rest was still embedded in my leg.

Hyourinmaru roared again but this time it was strictly in pain. I felt it too; it was like my spine had been snapped in half. The hollow even winced and I saw him falter slightly but he straightened almost instantly and turned to walk away.

I was left in pain and crying in the snow until I felt and hand on my shoulder. Mikami? I shakily raised my arm to touch it and let it pull me out of my inner world.

"Oh god, Teito what do I do?" I heard a female voice ask frantically.

The pain followed me from my head into reality. Through hazy eyes I could see a pool of blood spreading out on the wooden floor.

"Yes he's conscious... responsive?"

"Mikami?" I muttered, closing my eyes against the pain. I could feel a panic attack coming on as well.

"He's asking for Mikami. What should I do?"

Okay, so that wasn't my sister. I took a deep breath trying to stop myself from giving into the attack. Teito wasn't home; he had a late shift tonight so it was just me, Mikami... and Kamiko. Oh, the poor woman must have been having a heart attack right about now. I concentrated on my breathing, it was easier said than done; my body was trying to get me to hyperventilate and the searing pain in my leg did not make it any easier.

"Where's Mikami?" I asked again.

"She... she went to the clinic there was an emergency," Kamiko's voice trembled.

I swore under my breath. Okay, so I was basically in this alone; Kamiko obviously didn't know what to do in a situation like this – she was almost crying into her cell phone, I wouldn't dear turn to Toushiro, and I wasn't too sure about Hyourinmaru. I blinked to clear my vision and took a few more deep breaths; I could not lose it, not now at least. I chewed my bottom lip and concentrated on keeping my breathing at an easy pace. Sometimes concentrating on a pattern like my breathing or counting helped... I hadn't used this method in such a long time, though. I pushed the pain in my leg to the back of my mind telling myself that this wasn't the worst I had been through; I could deal with it. Pretty soon I was no longer on the verge of a panic attack and I slowly opened my eyes.

Kamiko was no longer in the room with me and I rolled my eyes hoping that she had gone to get medical supplies or something useful. I pushed myself up into a seated position and using my arms and good leg slid over to prop myself up against the wall. I hissed every time my leg came into contact with the floor. I hadn't known that it was possible but somehow the broken piece of the _zanpakuto_ had come into reality with me. It was a good thing really; it slowed the bleeding a bit.

"Kamiko?" I called out.

I heard someone running down the hallway and she poked her head around the door frame in seconds. "Hyōka?"

"Yes, come here for a second."

She scrambled next to me, knelt down and placed a small first aid kit to the side. Her cell phone was still at her ear. "He's alert now, Teito."

"Okay, good, he should be able to tell you what to do now. I'll be there as soon as I can. I've notified Mikami and Ichigo so they should be over there in while." I heard Teito's voice over the receiver.

She snapped the phone shut and turned to me.

"I need gauze," I said, "there's none in there; you'll have to check Mikami's room. She has a black, leather bag with medical equipment in her closet."

She nodded and left again. While she was gone I examined the wound; living with a doctor as a sibling had prepared me for this. The blood wasn't coming out in thick spurts so the blade hadn't hit an artery, which was good; I would have been dead otherwise.

Kamiko returned with the bag and ripped it open to get a roll of gauze.

She looked at the wound on my leg and winced. Then before I knew it she was reaching for the piece of steel in my leg.

"No!" I exclaimed, but it was too late. A fresh wave of white, blinding pain washed over me. I gritted my teeth against it.

She withdrew her hand in shock and was now nursing a cut across a few of her fingers. She looked at me questioningly. "I'm so sorry," she breathed.

I glared at her, "_never_ try to remove anything from a puncture wound; that just makes it worse... and that's sharp."

She chewed her bottom lip and nodded. "What do I do then?"

"Make a doughnut with the gauze... yes like that but much thicker. Okay, now place it around the... yeah," I leaned forward to apply pressure to the gauze. There wasn't much else I could do until Ichigo and Mikami got here. So, the two of us sat in silence for a while. I could tell Kamiko was scared, she worked in an advertising company; I don't think she had ever seen this much blood in her life. I sighed and glanced towards her.

"I'll be fine," I told her even though I was beginning to feel the effects of blood loss. God Ichigo and Mikami better hurry.

"How did this happen?"

I shook my head; it didn't make sense explaining now. She would have had to get inducted into all of this sooner or later, but I felt sorry that this was the way it had gone.

"Can I do anything else to help?"

"Just keep talking to me and make sure I don't pass out."

...

Ichigo's face had 'I told you so' written all over it. He stared down at me with a raised eyebrow while Mikami sat at my side looking like she had aged a decade in a matter of a few hours. Teito was the other room consoling Kamiko.

Mikami and Ichigo had arrived a few minutes before I passed out. Thankfully, they had thought to bring along Tessai with them, so healing my leg had been pretty simple.

"So, what happened?" Ichigo asked.

I looked away. "My hollow attacked me."

Mikami drew in a sharp breath. "I thought you were going to get that under control."

"It takes time-"

"He decided not to," Ichigo cut me off.

"What?" Mikami raised her eyebrows and turned to me.

"Okay, first off I wasn't sure if I could even control this hollow; I'm not strong enough to face him head on, as he so kindly proved tonight."

"Then you train until you are strong enough," Ichigo snapped.

"I don't have your drive, Ichigo, and he progresses alongside with me so, if I get stronger so does he.

"Well there has to be a way to counteract this," Mikami muttered. "And what's the real reason why you don't want to train anymore? I thought you were one-hundred percent on board with this."

Why did everyone assume that there was another reason behind this? I wasn't that predictable, was I?

"As long as you've been alive you have never once given up on something. Now, what's the real problem?"

I sighed, "I just don't see how this training is going to benefit me."

She frowned and Ichigo let out an annoyed huff.

"Well, from what Urahara-san said, it's going to stop you from getting killed."

"Or kill me faster."

"That's it. You better tell us the real reason why you don't want to do this." Ichigo exploded. "If you were truly that scared of your inner hollow then you wouldn't have tried to keep it a secret from us in the first place."

"I was trying to protect Toushiro; I didn't know how you were going to react." I folded my arms across my chest.

"And yet you were confident enough that you believed that you could hold him off without any help."

"Well I-"

"What's different this time around? What happened between now and then to make you think that you can't do this?"

Mikami turned to me, "I think it's time we talk about what happened in the Soul Soceity."

"Look, I can handle myself, okay. I don't need to talk about anything."

Mikami clenched her jaw. "Why are you trying to block us out? We're here to help you Hyōka."

"I don't need your hel-"

"Bullshit," we all turned to see Teito standing at the doorframe. "Don't think any of us haven't noticed how you've been acting lately. You're only thirteen and you've been through more than any adult I know. Stop trying to do this all on your own and help us to understand what you're going through; we're all here to help you; we want to get you through all this safely. Believe me when I say that it really hurts to see you like this. If you keep this all caged up sooner or later you're going to break and when it finally happens none of us are going to be able to put you back together. "

I looked up at Teito. I hadn't been acting that differently, had I? Okay, maybe I had been a little more jumpy and slightly more irritable but I honestly hadn't meant to worry any of them.

"Where's Kamiko?" I asked, hoping that she hadn't heard any of that.

"She was still worked up so I asked Tessai to calm her down and put her to sleep with _kido._ But back to you; why aren't you letting us help you?"

"I don't want to bother you with any of my problems," I muttered at length.

A unanimous sigh went around the room.

"How may time do we have to tell you we all _want_ to hear your problems. We want to help you."

I hung my head, "You've helped me more than enough."

"No as long as you need us, it'll never be enough."

"He's right, Hyōka, You're not a burden on anyone," Ichigo agreed, "Everyone in this room cares for you deeply and will do anything to keep you safe."

I chewed the inside of my cheek. I guess telling them what was wrong this one time wouldn't hurt. I mean they probably wouldn't leave me alone until I did.

"Fine," I muttered, "I'm worried about what the Soul Society will do if they find out what I am."

"They're not going to do anything, you're not under their jurisdiction," Miakmi growled.

"That didn't stop them before," I looked at my hands, "There's a reason why they don't want me to learn _shikai _or _bankai_."

Teito and Mikami looked at each other unsure how to respond to me. Icghio ran a hand through his hair and moved to sit down on the bed next to me.

"I'm going to tell you a story," he said.

I frowned; this was not the time for this. "About?" I asked hesitantly. Both Mikami and Teito looked slightly confused as well.

"About how I became a _shinigami_."

* * *

**I did intend to jump right into the visored tarining but then this happened. The reasoning I think could have been said better but I couldn't come up with anything else. It just seemed like something a thirteen year old would do. Hyoka is scared about this whole ordeal even though he tries to hide it most of the time.  
**

**So hate it love it? Tell me what you thought :)**

**-Mymomomo**


	37. Chapter 37

**Hi**

** Season's greetings!**

**If anyone remembers me; I'm sorry for taking so long, things piled up on me and before I knew it Christmas was here T^T**

**I guess I didn't meet the deadline for finishing the story so you're stuck with a few more months of my terrible cliff hangers and waiting Yayy! **

* * *

Ichigo sat cross-legged at the foot of my bed, Mikami was sitting next to me with an arm wrapped around my shoulders, and Teito had pulled up my desk chair. We all stared expectantly at Ichigo, who was playing with the hem of his jeans.

He took a deep breath then looked up at us. "Well... where do I start?" he chewed the inside of his cheek. "I've always been able to see ghosts; ever since I was a little kid-"

"Not that far back, Kurosaki, I think I know how it went," I cut him off as I rolled my eyes.

He chuckled a bit while Mikami sighed and Teito shook his head.

"Okay fine. Hmm... I first found out about _shinigami_ when I was fifteen. Rukia, actually, snuck into my bedroom while she was trying to find a hollow close to my house. She thought I couldn't see her at first," he smiled at the memory for some reason, "but then she explained what she was and what she was doing-"

"Wait, what? That's it? She just sat you down and told you everything? While me over here had to nearly get myself killed for you to tell me anything?"

"Okay one, I was much older than you, and two, I wasn't in any immediate danger. Anyway, soon the hollow she was looking for showed back up so she had to leave to fight it."

"And I suppose you didn't follow and that was it?"

"Stop interrupting. And no, she bound me with _kido_ so I wouldn't get in her way."

"But you did anyway..."

"Do you want to tell the story?"

"No, continue."

"I ended up breaking through the _kido_ when the hollow went after Yuzu and Karin. Long story short, it almost killed me and, to prevent me from dying, Rukia transferred some of her powers to me and I became a _shinigami_."

I blinked. "You're a horrible story-teller."

"I'm not done yet. Honestly," he turned to Teito and Mikami, "is he always like this?"

"You ever tried telling him a fairy tale? It's a nightmare. He pokes holes in all the plots," Teito answered with a shake of his head.

"Well they make no sense-"

"Just let him tell his story, okay, Koko-chan?"

I huffed but turned back to Ichigo.

"When Rukia gave me her powers, she lost her own; so, for some time, I went around killing hollows and such until she was arrested and taken back to the Soul Soceity-"

"For what?" I exclaimed in outrage; I wasn't able to help myself.

"Apparently, it's illegal for a _shinigami_ to give their powers to a human, and she had stayed past her allotted time in the World of the Living, but that was minor. The punishment for giving humans powers is execution so that was what she was put up against when she got back. Of course, I couldn't let this happen so I, along with my friends Orehime, Chad and Uryu, trained to go to the Soul Society and rescue Ruika..."

...

I managed to stay quiet for the rest of Ichigo's story. It did get a lot better as it went on, but it did nothing to help my feelings towards the Central Forty-six and the _Gotei_ Thirteen. Admittedly, everything that was going on right now was Aizen's fault. I did hate him even more now, but something about the _Gotei_ didn't sit right with me. They were like an autocratic government, doing things for the 'greater good' but harming their own people in the process. Systems like that were in place even in this world, but that didn't make it any easier to swallow. I wasn't an anarchist or anything, but I didn't believe that governments should harm the ones they were trying to govern; it seemed very counterproductive to me. But I guess that's just what the Central Forty-six was: a government, a very brutal, military government.

I huffed and glanced at Ichigo, who had taken Teito's place on my desk chair. Mikami had fallen asleep on the bed next to me and Teito had gone to check on Kamiko. Soul Soceity had put Ichigo through a lot of shit as well and yet he was still helping them; he still believed in them. I shook my head; he trusted people too easily.

_But at least he's not self-destructive, _Toushiro snapped. He had resurfaced into consciousness during Ichigo's story and had sat patiently listening with Hyourinmaru curled around him.

_I'm not self destructive,_ I countered.

He snorted_, You're scared of controlling the hollow._

_How is that self destructive? More like self-perseverant. You know he can kill me if I go up against him._

_That's not the point. The point is no one's going to let you die. The viosred know what they're dealing with, Ichigo will do anything to save you, Hyourinmaru has your back, and I'll try my best to help you as well. You're really just apprehensive that Central Forty-six will try to control you if you reach your peak power. _

_They will won't they?_

_They don't like things they can't control, so potentially yes. They will investigate into what you are, they will try to exploit your powers, and they will force you to fight for them._

_We really need to work on you pep talks. You're supposed to make me want to do this-_

_They may be going about this all wrong, but you'll end up doing something honourable in the end. You'll end up going against Aizen, who cares how it happens._

_They were going to torture me! I can't just let that slide!_

_They were trying to arrest and possibly kill Ichigo; you don't see him nursing the wound. He overlooked their faults and sided with them for the greater good. Swallow your pride, Hyōka, there's no room in this war for it._

I looked at my feet. _Do you really think I can beat the hollow?_

_Yes; it won't be easy, but I believe that you can do it. You're stubborn and strong willed; as long as you keep on defying the hollow you have a chance. Just show him you're immoveable; I mean you both want to kill Aizen he just thinks you're too weak to do it. You have to prove to him that you aren't_

_How the hell do I do that?_

He scowled. _Just stop running away. _

I blinked and took a deep breath. It seemed easy enough; I just needed to convince myself that I could do it.

"What cha' thinking about so hard?" Ichigo's voice made me jump.

"Toushiro wants me to fight my hollow," I sighed.

"So does everyone else."

"He thinks I have a chance,"

"Once again, so does everyone else."

I took a deep breath, "Ichigo, I'm scared."

He blinked in shock that I would actually admit that out loud. "You'd be foolish not to be. I won't tell you not to worry about it 'cause you should, but I'll be there to help so will your sister and brother and Shinji. He may not look like it, but he's really strong. We won't let anything happen to you. You just need to trust us."

I chewed my bottom lip. I always hated when I was on the losing side of an argument. "Fine," I'll do it. I won't run away anymore."

Ichigo grinned, "That's all I asked for."

...

"How much do you love me?" Teito asked Kamiko as we all sat in various positions around the living room.

She frowned, "Well, I am marrying you... I'd say quite a bit."

"Good, 'cause I've been keeping a huge secret from you."

"Does this have anything to do with what happened to Hyōka last night?"

He nodded, "I'm afraid you're marrying into a family of weirdos."

Mikami rolled her eyes. "Speak for yourself."

Kamiko blinked, "You all do have your quirks, but I wouldn't call you weirdos-"

"We see ghosts." Blunt much?

"What?"

"We can see ghosts – dead people – talk with them and a few other things as well."

She was speechless for a while then she shook her head, "This isn't funny, Teito. Something really bad happened last night; you can't just shake it off as one of your jokes!"

"I'm not joking,"

"Ghosts? Really?" she folded her arms across her chest.

"He's being serious," Mikami stepped in, "I know it may seem weird, but everything strange that happens around us has something to do with supernatural beings."

Kamiko's eyebrows rose into her hairline, "So I'm supposed to believe that a 'ghost' caused what happened last night? That's crazy. If you don't want to tell me exactly what's going on then at least come up with a better cover story."

"Kamiko, we're telling you the truth," Teito pleaded, "I know it sounds farfetched, but you know I would never lie to you. Look, the three of us have always been able to see these kinds of things, Hyōka especially,-"

"You can't really expect me to believe that! Ghosts? What next you'll tell me that you have a pet unicorn!"

"Actually..." the three of them turned to me.

"No," Kamiko shook her head and stood up, "No, no, no. I'm leaving. I don't know what's going on behind the scenes here, but I've had enough of this."

"Actually," I went on, "I can prove that we're telling the truth."

She raised an eyebrow, "how?"

I hobbled over to the coffee table. Tessai was near impeccable when it came to healing but there was always an uncomfortable twinge that accompanied newly healed limbs. I placed Hyourinmaru on the centre of the table and took a step back.

"Okay, Hyourinmaru do your thing," I said and took a deep breath as I got ready to have Hyourinmaru transfer his spirit from me to the toy.

"Are you're making fun of me," Kamiko snarled but then...

Hyourinmaru stood up on his hind legs and waved at her. Her eyes grew wide and she dropped back into the chair.

"Wha... wha... How are you doing that?"

"I transferred part of my spirit into Hyourinmaru."

Mikami turned to me, "You can do that?"

I nodded and picked Hyourinmaru up off the table. "Here you can hold him."

She looked apprehensive but allowed me to place Hyourinmaru into her lap. He was sensitive enough not to move around too much and sat patiently blinking while she took it all in. Eventually she took a deep breath slowly picked him up. He eyes widened. "He has a heartbeat...I... I can feel it." Kamiko slumped backwards into her chair and placed Hyourinmaru back on her lap, "This is... I think I need a minute."

Teito moved to sit next to her and mouthed a thank you in my direction. I nodded and hobbled back to my previous perch on one of the kitchen stools.

I stopped Kamiko before she left a bit later, just to tell her thanks for being there last night. She was still a bit dazed so I let it slide when she responded, "Yeah, any time."

...

"How long is this going to take?" I asked Shinji as he led me to the centre of the dessert-esque training room.

"How long did it take you to become a _shinigami_?"

"Seventy-two hours."

"Hmm, well you should be able to do this around two."

I blinked and stared, "You serious?"

He nodded, "But the training afterwards is what's going to take two to three weeks."

I sighed, "of course it is."

Grinning, he turned towards me and adjusted his paperboy cap.

"We'll start now-"

"Hey, Shinji, you ready yet!?"

He rolled his eyes and turned around, "Yes, Hiyori, are you coming or what?"

"Don't yell at me, Horse-face!"

Shinji sighed and rubbed his temples, "Okay, where were we?" he turned back to me, "Yes, I already know you have enough _reiatsu_ to do this, so I'm gonna skip out the first test. What's gonna happen is I'm gonna force you into your own soul and you're going to confront your hollow. If you win you'll be able to use his powers and if not you'll become a full-fledged hollow... or something like that; since you're not actually dead I don't really know how this is going to turn out."

"Well that's comforting," I muttered.

"But no need to worry; we've got your back if anything goes wrong."

"That's even less comforting."

He grinned. "You ready for this?

"No, but I'm going to do it anyway. I'm crazy aren't I?"

"We're all crazy here; we have more fun that way."

...

I woke up lying down on the plain of ice. I was by myself; completely alone. I couldn't even sense Hyourinmaru and Toushiro was nowhere to be seen. That was probably not a good thing; I mean I had been sent here to fight him, the least he could do was show up. Nevertheless, I could use the time to prepare myself. I summoned my _zanpakuto_ blade and felt a little more at ease when I felt the cool hilt materialise in my palm. I stood up and took a few experimental swings. Hyourinmaru sung as he cut through the air. I went through a few forms; practicing my balance, footwork, and coordination. I knew going through this routine was pointless, if a battle was going to happen I was going to have to dive right in regardless of whether I was warmed up or not. Still, it was calming and I found myself becoming less concerned about the fight with my hollow and more focused on controlling my own movements.

As I finished up the sequence and swung my blade in the final arc I heard an echoing, slow clap – each one a clap of thunder in my ears. I froze and my heartbeat started to speed up. I tried to take a deep breath to calm myself but it turned into a raspy gasp for air and I succeeded in getting a cantaloupe-sized lump in my throat.

_I must admit that was rather impressive. You have talent boy._

I turned slowly to face the hollow. He walked up to me holding his version of Hyourinmaru.

_Only less than two months of handling a sword and already you move like a seasoned warrior._

_So what? _I snarled.

_You're welcome._ He grinned.

I narrowed my eyes. _ I don't have to thank you for anything. _

_Really? Not even the memories that are helping you to improve at such a rate? You thought that was all you? _He shook his head. _Oh no no no no no, you poor, delusional thing._

I narrowed my eyes and gripped Hyourinmaru tighter.

_I tell it to you every time we meet, yet it hasn't seemed to sink into that hard head of yours. You. Are. Weak. _ He had begun to circle me while dragging the tip of his sword in the snow. The crunching of the snow under his feet coupled with the metallic slicing noise was more unnerving than his deranged smile.

_I am not weak. _

He stopped circling me and brought his blade up in front of him. _We'll see._

I blinked and he was inches away from me. I barely had time to register that he was in front of me before I felt a stinging pain in my side. I jumped backwards a bit clumsily, but brought Hyourinmaru up and held a defensive position. The hollow straightened and flicked the blood off the edge of his sword.

_A real swordsman wouldn't have gotten hit. _

With that he was on me again. I managed to block his attack in the nick of time but the force of his hit sent tremors up my arms. I pushed him away before jumping back again. I was displeased to notice that I was already breathing heavily and the cut that he had drawn on my side was stinging like hell. I swallowed and pushed the pain to the back of my mind; I could not afford any distractions. This was it; the decisive battle. I could not let myself lose.

I prepared myself for the next attack. I raised my arms and met the hollow's swing with a deafening clash of steal. This time he jumped back but attacked almost instantly after. We traded blows for what felt like an eternity – by trading I meant he dealt them while I frantically scrambled to block each one. When I saw the smallest break in his onslaught I jumped away hoping to give myself a small reprieve.

Honestly, I wasn't doing so hot in this battle. Along with the gash in my side he had managed to nick my thigh and shoulder, draw a long shallow cut along my collar bone and I swore my wrist was broken from catching a blow from the back of his blade. And during all this time I hadn't managed to get in a single offensive blow. I huffed and wiped a bead of sweat off my forehead before having to block yet another attack. I was able to stop his blade from slicing my face in half but the force of the blow sent me tumbling backwards into the snow. I scrambled to get back up but the hollow was quicker. He towered over me and placed a foot on my chest. He glared down at me with a mixture of disgust and self-satisfaction on his face.

_What are you even doing?_ He snarled. _Did you really think you could beat me as you are now? That was child's play for me. _

He was right; what was I doing? I was making a fool of myself that's what. Ichigo and all the others believed that I could fight this hollow and stand a chance. They had never seen what he could do; they did not understand that I did not have a hope in heaven nor hell to win this battle. I had really signed my death this time around. But strangely as I glared back up at him I did not feel scared. I should have been downright terrified; hell I was probably going to die in the next few minutes. I should have been peeing myself in fear. Instead, I looked right back at the hollow and I felt anger well up in my chest. I blinked trying to figure out where it was coming from and when I did I couldn't help but crack a small smile. Ichigo was definitely doing something out there if I could feel his _reiatsu _even from inside my inner world. That man put too much out for me, he cared way too much; there was no way I could let him down. Plus, everyone was counting on me to beat the hollow.

_What are you laughing at?_ The hollow snarled,_ is it funny that you're going to die?_

I shook my head. _No, I think it's funny that you're calling me weak. _

He sneered, _reality isn't a laughing matter. You're weak and I'm going to kill you. _

_No, not today._

I _shunpoed_ out from under his foot and landed behind him. I wasted no time in striking at his back but he spun around in the nick of time.

He raised an eyebrow as he glared at me._ Is that it? _

He swiped at my side. I blocked the blow and traded one of my own. He blocked that too, however.

_Just give up; you have no hope of defeating me. You're weak. _

_You keep saying that. But you also said before that I get my powers from you, so does that mean you're weak as well?_

He snarled and swung at my neck. I ducked and swiped my blade at his stomach. He narrowly avoided the blow.

_No, it simply means you're weak._

I clenched my jaw and attacked again. _I am not weak._

He grinned; his pointy teeth sank into his lower lip. _Then hit me. Prove that you aren't._

I snarled and leapt at him. He sidestepped my attack and I felt all the air leave my lungs as he rammed the hilt of his sword in between my shoulder blades. I landed chin first in the snow, chipping a tooth or two and biting my tongue. The hollow cackled from above me.

_That's what I thought. You aren't worth the power that I have. You can't hope to beat me and you will NEVER be able to stand up against Aizen. _

I spat out a mouthful of blood and tried to get up. The hollow snorted and kicked me back down. I groaned and rolled onto my back. Black was beginning to creep into the edges of my vision and I felt winded. The hollow stood over me and I thought he was going to start taunting me again but instead he delivered a forceful kick to my head. I felt like I had gotten run over by a two ton truck, I could have sworn I felt something crack in my skull and my brain started pounding like I had a migraine on steroids. All I could see and hear was blank white for a second. Then, when my vision swooped back in, it was like things were happening in slow motion. I counted the minutes it took the hollow to stoop down and grab the front of my _shihakusho_ and place his blade against my throat.

I closed my eyes. So this was it, I was literally seconds away from dying. I guess I really couldn't win this after all. I felt numbing cold seep into my body starting at my fingertips and feet. My heart beat sped up while I lost feeling everywhere else and someone was yelling in my head. I blinked... yelling?

"Don't just lie there? Stand up and fight, Hyōka. You're not weak so don't act like it."

Was that... Ichigo? Yes... it was... what was going on out there? I cracked open an eye to see that the hollow had frozen. He was looking at me with a baffled expression on his face and his _Zanpakuto_ was no longer at my throat.

_What is that?_ He muttered while looking around.

_You may think I'm weak but apparently there are others who think the opposite. _ As soon as I opened my mouth his snarl was back on. He raised his _zanpakuto _again and swung at my neck. I had no time to think I raised my own sword to block the blow it worked, in essence, but the sudden stinging pain in my hand told me that he had hit something else. There was not enough time to examine the wound as I _shunpoed_ out of his grasp. I landed a few feet away and looked back at the hollow. He was staring at me with death in his eyes but was that a hint of disbelief? I swallowed; I was seeing things.

I was about to bring Hyourinmaru up and tighten my grip when I suddenly realised how hard it was to hold him. He nearly fell out of my hand when I moved it. I was about to look down when I realised that I probably did not want to, I had to finish this right now and judging by the amount of blood that was seeping into the biding around Hyourinmaru's hilt and the fact that I couldn't feel three of the fingers on my right hand that it was a serious injury. I would be using a two handed grip from now on.

I adjusted my grip and focused on the hollow. He was still glaring at me but stood at attention when he saw me move.

_When are you going to give up? When are you going to give up? You can't even hold your sword properly anymore._

_I will never give up. I will never give you the satisfaction of winning. As long as I have the strength I will fight you. _

The hollow clenched his jaw and there was some unspoken agreement. We faced each other and at the same time sprang. On the short dash that it took us to come together I adjusted my blade as he did his. We both held them out to the side and in the split second it took us to run past I angled the edge so it would dig into his stomach and at the same time twisted my body so his couldn't reach me. I felt my blade hit something but at the same time I felt a sharp sting in my side. I pushed myself to run away from him and seconds later I stood panting in the snow. I dropped to my knees also dropping Hyourinmaru. My entire body was shaking from exhaustion and I felt myself slowly drifting into unconsciousness. Black spots danced in my vision but I couldn't feel anything. I felt warmth from the blood on my side and hand but I didn't feel any of the pain that should have accompanied it. I raised my hands to my face, they were both bloody, bruised, and blistered but only my thumb and index finger remained attached to my right hand. I dropped my arm in revulsion and felt myself begin to sway.

At the back of my mind I heard the hollow begin to chuckle. It was a tired sound, almost breathless in a way and somewhat drowned out by the crunching of snow.

_I guess I was wrong about you. You might just have a chance of beating Aizen after all. _

I looked over my shoulder and saw the hollow collapse into the snow.

I did it... I had really done it; I won.

Wind blew around the plane of ice. I was sure the snow was now littered with spots of red especially since there was a pool of blood forming around my knees. I sent one more look over my shoulder at the hollow before collapsing face forward with a soft crunch.

* * *

**Sorry, for the horrendous story within a story it's hard to re-cap the entire story-line of bleach in a few paragraphs. **

**And for compensation for making you guys wait so long for the next week of two I'm going to be ignoring all my friends (but they deserve it ) and boarding myself up in my room and typing up a storm. **

**-Mymomomo**


	38. Chapter 38

**Well here we go, the final countdown. Yes, I'm wrapping things up now T^T**

**Due to a few unforeseen circumstances there was a couple weeks delay in posting.**

**And once again I can't remember if an answered everyone's reviews individually so I'll do them all here. (Thanks for the amazing amount btw, guys. Almost 450! 0.0 I'm impressed and ever so grateful)**

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very

much.

**Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet: **Battles, or action in general are my strong points thanks to all the spy and sci-fi novels I've read:)

**Zenthisor:** I have hidden quiet a few movie references in here, so the Sixth Sense might just be one of them

**Bookworm83197:** That's character development for the win! Glad you liked the fight; I had fun doing it.

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**Again thanks to everyone who reviewed favourited or followed; it means a lot to me even at this stage. **

**Anyway, I've kept you here long enough: enjoy. **

* * *

I blinked stupidly as light flooded my eyesight. For a second I was totally confused; where the hell was I? What had happened? But then everything came rushing back like a bullet – I mean I even heard the gunshot and everything. The hollow, the fight, my hand... wait had I actually won? I blinked again... that must have been a fluke; he had probably slipped on some ice. I drew in a deep breath and sat up. I was still at Shinji's place, but instead of the training ground I was lying down on a small, lumpy cot in a small, messy room.

My lethargic movements told me that I had been out for a while. I sighed and ran a hand down my face, but stopped as I felt rough gauze scrape my skin. I examined my hand, turning it over and back. My whole hand, starting from my wrist, was wrapped in thick layers of gauze. I could barely move anything but my thumb; though, I think that must have been the point. Whoever had healed me had done a good job, I gathered, I didn't feel any pain, but I couldn't really feel anything. The gauze was so thick that I couldn't even feel if my fingers had been reattached and it was wrapped so that I couldn't peek either. I huffed and dropped my hand on to my lap. The impact from the landing sent a jolt through the gauze and my hand was left throbbing for a second. I held back a groan; I guess I wasn't as fully healed as I thought. I cradled my hand against my chest. However, I decided that I was well enough to get up.

I hopped off the bed and stretched my limbs a bit. I didn't feel any different than before; it was the same as when I became a _shinigami_ there was no real difference. I had expected this, but somehow I wished I felt something: a bit more confident or able to think straight. I sighed again and bent down to pull on my _waraji_. It was a hard task, I discovered, with only one hand.

_Don't feel different?_ Toushiro asked.

I was pulled into my inner world. Toushiro was sitting down cross-legged in the snow with Hyourinmaru snoozing behind him – the dragon really did sleep a lot. I sat down next to Toushiro and leaned back against Hyourinmaru's side. He rumbled softly under me and I patted his scales in response.

_What do you mean? _Toushiro questioned me.

I shrugged. _I don't know I expected to feel more in control, but I only feel like I just woke up from a nap._

He chuckled, _you'll feel different when you fight. _

I frowned. _Do you feel any different?_

_Yeah, part of me doesn't want to kill you anymore. _

_Well, that's a good thing, I guess. _

He nodded. _You did well. _

_You sound surprised..._

_Do I?_

Hyourinmaru chuckled, _we both are surprised. You must admit that was a close call; he almost cut off your head... and your hand. I was sure you were going to pass out from blood loss. But who would have guessed what a sturdy, little thing you are, hmmm? That last move was impressive; next time you won't get hit._

_Next time?_

_How do you think you're going to train?_

_I have to fight the hollow again?!_

_He won't be trying to kill you this time._

I snorted, _Well, that's awesome._

Toushiro smiled and shook his head.

_You have a lot to learn, Hatchling._

...

Soon my stomach forced me to wonder out of the room in search of food. The _visored_ and Ichigo were in various positions around the warehouse. I accounted for all the _visored_ and headed over to Ichigo. He was poring over a thick – what appeared to be a medical – book. In one hand was a pen and in the other a small stack of papers. His usual scowl was in place and he seemed frustrated. I almost always forgot that Ichigo was a doctor and had gone through medical school – graduated in the top percentile of his class as he often pointed out when I joked about his intelligence.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I pulled up a chair next to him.

He dropped the pen and ran a hand through his hair. "I can't diagnose this patient. He has symptoms for at least four different diseases and none of them correlate. It doesn't make sense – Hyōka?!" he broke off and looked up in shock. "You're awake."

I grinned. "Yup."

He placed the file down and pulled me into a lung crushing hug. "Thank god,"

I allowed him to hug me for a few moments before pushing away. "How long was I out for?"

"Around a day or so."

I sighed and leaned back in my chair. "What happened?

He raised an eyebrow. "You won; that's what happened. I told you, you could do it."

I held up my bandaged hand. "At what cost, though?"

"You'll be fine in a few days. That was nothing Hachi couldn't handle."

"He reattached my fingers?"

"No. He's re-growing them."

"What?" I immediately began to tear at the gauze.

Ichigo grabbed my hand, "Don't you dear take that bandage off, Hyōka."

I grinned sheepishly. "What do growing fingers look like?"

He rolled his eyes. "Go ask Hachi. And ask him for the leftovers while you're at it; you're probably starving."

...

The _visored_ had a tendency to make one-pot meals big enough to feed an army. The 'leftovers' could have fed a small village in Africa – and they seriously expected me to eat all of it. They kept on saying things like I needed to keep up my energy. I also found it near impossible to hold a pair of chopsticks in my left hand, so I guess irritation had something to do with my diminished appetite.

"What happened in there?" Hiyori asked as she stooped down next to me.

I raised an eyebrow and finished chewing a chunk of beef before answering her. "I was fighting my hollow."

She growled softly, "no shit. I mean how did you end up losing three fingers?"

I looked down at my bandaged hand. "I stopped him from beheading me," I paused, "I guess I didn't think the plan through, huh?"

She snorted, "You had everyone worried out here-"

"Everyone except you, of course," I grinned.

She raised her eyebrows then smirked, "Obviously, I never get worked up over small fry. Even if I've never seen anyone get that beat up by their inner hollow." She sat down and crossed her arms across her chest.

"What do you mean?"

"You were seconds away from becoming a full hollow."

"What?"

"Am I not speaking Japanese, or are you stupid?"

Take the high ground, I told myself. "No one fully explained what was going to happen to me. All I knew was that I was supposed to fight my hollow and win."

"Well then, let's just say you were at the point of blasting everyone with cero."

"What?!"

She scowled at me. "Say 'what' one more time..."

"Wha-"

"That's it, you little," she sprang up and grabbed me by the front of my shirt.

"Hiyori, leave him alone!"

Ichigo and the rest of the _visored_ came running up to us.

"Shut it, Shinji," she growled looking away from me for a split second.

"If anything it was probably Hyōka who was antagonising her," Ichigo sighed.

Hiyori let go of me and shoved me to the ground, but I was already sitting so it didn't do much.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Hyōka, behave."

...

An angry message from Chou alerted me to how long I had not seen my friends. We had been texting each other but now they were demanding to see me in person. Figures, 'relationships' relied on 'physical' contact; how tiresome. But, truth be told, I had sort of been avoiding them. I mean, I had almost _eaten_ Adachi the last time I saw them and I was not looking forward to explaining myself. That had happened almost three weeks ago, if I was counting correctly. Lately days had been melting in to each other and in this warehouse I couldn't tell if it even _was_ day. Nevertheless, I would have to go see them soon and so I did what I do best; I snuck out.

Toushiro disapproved, of course, he said that I should be conserving my energy for what was to come. As usual I ignored him and called him an old grouch then he got mad at me and called me an irresponsible brat and refused to talk to me. Hyourinmaru just laughed at us. Honestly, I should have been writing this all down. I could probably make a sitcom with the stuff that went on inside my head.

About twenty minutes later I was knocking on Kazu's front door. It had taken me a bit longer to sneak out as I had to hide my _reiatsu_ from not only Ichigo's bloodhound-like nose but the rest of the _visored_. But their base was much closer to Kazu's house than my apartment so that compensated for the time lost.

"Hyōka," Kazu seemed mildly surprised when he opened the door, "what's up?"

I raised an eyebrow and let myself in. "Your crazy girlfriend told that if I didn't come over this instant she would upload the Macbeth play to every social media site she knew."

He winced. "That sounds like her." He shut the door and I followed him to his bedroom.

"Ah, it lives," Chou deadpanned. Adachi was sitting at Kazu's desk playing a game on his computer. He spared me a second's glance before going back to the game. I couldn't tell if he was angry at me because of that night or if he was just his normal self. So I pushed his reaction to the back of my mind and turned back to the others.

I rolled my eyes but then frowned and stared at her, "Your hair..."

"What about it?" she challenged, moving from her pose, sprawling on the bed to stand with her arms across her chest.

"It's blue."

"It's called streaks, idiot. And if you weren't so MIA you wouldn't have been so shocked."

"I would have been shocked regardless," I countered, "it's blue. It was brown when I last saw you."

"You don't like it?" her question sounded oddly like a threat.

"I didn't say that-"

"Alright you two; that's enough," Kazu sighed and plopped down on his bed.

Chou sent me a glare that read 'this isn't over yet'. I just stuck my tongue out at her and took up residence on the bed next to Kazu.

"You know," Chou started as she walked over to the window and leaned against it, "every time you abandon us I kind of miss you. Then as soon as you come back I remember how annoying you are."

I rolled my eyes, "give it a rest."

"So what have you been up – whoa! What happened to your hand?" Kazu looked down in shock at my bandaged arm.

Even Adachi turned away from the computer.

"Oh... um... I burnt it."

"Looks like a pretty bad burn," Adachi noted with a tinge of concern in his voice, "What happened?" So he wasn't mad. I sighed inwardly in relief. But the jackass; he knew this had to do with my training. I swore I saw him smirk as I scrambled for a cover story.

"I, uh... I was... ironing."

Chou raised an eyebrow, "Were you ironing your hand? Geez, it looks like you burnt off a finger."

I scowled at her; if only she knew. "The iron fell so I caught it... dumb mistake, I know."

"I don't think there's ever been a time where I haven't seen you with some sort of injury." Kazu chuckled, shaking his head.

"That's not true," I argued, "you make me sound like a klutz."

"He's right," Adachi added, "I can account for most of it."

"There was that time you broke your wrist," Chou chimed in.

"Or when you came back from Sapporo with bandaged arms," Kazu listed.

"Okay, okay. I get it." I shook my head, "I get hurt a lot; sue me."

"You're going to die young I bet," Chou joked.

I stuck out my tongue and pretended to be amused. If only they knew.

...

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened that night?" Adachi asked me. Chou and Kazu had gone downstairs to get us some snacks and they were taking their sweet time about it.

I sighed, her it comes, "An _arrancar_ attacked us and Kurosaki saved us. Adachi... I'm sorry."

"For what? It wasn't your fault."

"It was; I put you and the others in danger. You almost got killed; I-"

"Stop. Just stop. This is turning sappy, so stop. It's not a big deal. Nobody got hurt. In fact I barely remember that night, so you don't have to apologise for anything."

"But-"

"Do you want me to punch you?"

I grinned slightly.

"I thought so. Now tell me what happened."

"Like I said: an _arrancar_ attacked us-"

"I know that part, I mean, why? I thought you could control your _reiatsu_ now."

"I can." I was almost insulted.

"And you could control it when we were at the cinema right?"

"Yes." I _was_ insulted.

"So, then why haven't any attacked between then and now?"

I paused. I actually had no idea. It wasn't like Aizen was waiting for me to learn to control my powers, was he?

"Something big is coming, isn't it?" Adachi was way more perceptive than he let on to.

"There's a war coming." I admitted, "The _shinigami_ vs Aizen round two."

His eyes widened, "A war? Why?"

"Aizen is an asshole, that's why."I shrugged. "Ichigo may include me in what's going on a bit more now, but he still has his secrets." Somehow telling him that the war was happening because of me didn't sit well on my tongue.

"That doesn't seem fair."

"What doesn't seem fair?" Chou barged in carrying a bowl of popcorn.

"That the new tutor Mikami got me is trying to take over my life." I had told them that I was being homeschooled now. Technically it wasn't a lie; the term 'school' was just being used very loosely. When this Aizen fiasco was over I would have some serious catching up to do. It was surprising that Mikami and Teito had let my education take a back burner; priorities, I guess. A war that may or may not result in the end of the world might have been a tiny bit more important than a grade eight education.

Chou placed the bowl in the centre of the bed and sat down next to it just as Kazu came in carrying a tray of drinks.

"Who's up for a movie?" he asked.

...

It was almost midnight when Chou, Adachi – I suppose I should have been calling him Kouta by now – and I were walking home. The moon was full and it was a bit colder than I should have been at this time.

"My dad is going to kill me," Chou muttered and kicked at a loose piece of pavement.

I rolled my eyes, "Welcome to my world."

As soon as I spoke I felt a chill run through me. It was so sudden that I stumbled a bit. Chou raised an eyebrow and I blamed the uneven ground, but I knew that there was something out there. I glanced to Adachi. He had his eyes narrowed and he was ever so slowly looking around. I sighed internally. Great; why did things like this always happen when I was alone? Adachi just had to go and jinx the lack of Aizen.

_Toushiro?_

_Yeah I feel it too. Don't worry, Ichigo should be somewhere around._

_Who's worrying? I don't need Ichigo to protect me all the time. _

He exhaled in annoyance. _You're unarmed and human at the moment. Please tell me how you expect to defend yourself._

I growled. _Thank you, Dr. Spock._

_What?_

I shoved my hands into my pockets and tuned him out. The three of us walked on a little further before I felt the arrancar's _reiatsu_ strengthen. Both Adachi and I were on edge.

"What's wrong with you guys?" Chou muttered, "You're acting really weird."

I rolled my eyes. "Maybe it's because we're walking home alone at midnight," I snapped.

She shoved her hands in her pockets but was quiet otherwise. I probably shouldn't have snapped at her but I was nervous. I was expecting the _arrancar_ to jump out at us like it did last time so I was fervidly trying to look every which way possible and try to act normal at the same time. I didn't succeed either way, and without any means to fight, I could almost feel a panic attack coming on.

But then I felt him before I could see him. A familiar, warm, wild power rapidly drowned out the _arrancar's_ _reiatsu_ and Ichigo calmly walked into view. His body language was relaxed but his eyes spoke murder; I felt myself shrink slightly.

"Ku-Kurosaki," I swallowed, "what are you doing here?"

"What do you think?" he glanced at Chou and Adachi, "What are you guys doing out so late? It's dangerous at this time of night."

Chou hung her head and Adachi chewed the inside of his cheek. Ichigo sighed, "Come on let's get you guys home."

...

Mikami and Teito were waiting at the _visored's_ by the time Ichigo and I got back; they did not look too happy. I sighed; here we go again.

"Okay, before everyone jumps on my back, if my leaving was such a huge problem why did you wait until midnight to come find me?" I said before anyone else had the chance to speak.

Shinji raised an eyebrow. "Next time leave a note."

"What?"

"A note. You know; a piece of paper that tells us where you've gone."

I frowned.

"We weren't worried or anything," Hiyori added, "It was just a hassle to find your _reiatsu_."

"Wait, I'm not in trouble?" I asked confused. I glanced over to Teito and Mikami. They both were still frowning.

"Trouble?" Hiyori snickered, "What are we your parents?"

I turned to Mikami.

She folded her arms across her chest. "You know what you did was dangerous, Hyōka, but in light of new events I'm going to hold off on your punishment for now."

I swallowed, "What new developments?"

"Aizen's troops are moving," Ichigo growled. I turned to him. His scowl was deeper than normal and he was grinding his teeth together. "I thought we would have more time than this. We're going to have to cut your training short and get you to safety."

"Wh-what?" I stammered. "You guys said at least three months! It's been one month and three weeks. Why is this happening so fast?"

Ichigo rubbed his temples. "We're going to have a meeting at Kisuke's. Hopefully someone will have an answer for you."

I had never felt dread seep into my bones as fast as it was now.

...

Kisuke's house was bursting to the brim that night. There was the usual crowd – Ichigo, Kisuke, Yoruichi, Tessai, Jinta, Ururu, Mikami, Teito and Uryu – plus the _visored, _and the _shinigami _had sent a few people as well. I would have been happy to see Rangiku and Renji if it wasn't for the situation we were in.

I sat with my back against the wall rather than my usual position at the table. There was hardly any space to move, mainly because there was a huge screen mounted on the far wall. When I say mounted I meant with purple, fleshy tendrils that looked like they belonged on some sort of tropical plant.

"How rude, Kisuke, nothing to offer your guests?" Shinji complained.

"I'm not falling for that again," Kisuke sang from behind his fan, "you'll eat me out of my home."

Shinji chuckled, "Let's get this show on the road."

With that said, Tessai began to fiddle with a ... connection behind the screen and it flickered to life. The screen showed the meeting hall in the _Seireitei_ with Yamamoto sitting in his chair, wooden staff in hand.

There were no pleasantries, no introduction, no nothing. The atmosphere of the room went instantly to serious and Yamamoto banged his staff on the wooden floor. He didn't need to; he had every one's attention already.

"Aizen has mobilised his troops," he said in that great, booming voice, "I did not want him to have to first move, but we lost communication with our sentries stationed in _Heuco_ _Mundo_. I must assume the worst."

I felt Mikami tense beside me. I placed a hand on her knee, causing her to glance at me and then put a hand around my shoulders.

"So what now?" Shinji asked, "Do we have a plan? Do we attack or..."

"You do nothing," Yamamoto answered.

"What?!" Hiyori exclaimed, "Do nothing? I'm not just gonna sit here and let that bastard come after us."

"Silence." Even through a monitor Yamamoto was scary. "He has Karakura surrounded and more _arrancar_ are arriving by the second. We do not have enough troops stationed in Karakura to attack."

"And the plan is..." Shinji asked again.

"You are going to join us in the Soul Society. We cannot risk a battle in Karakura."

"They're not going to follow us to the Soul Society,"

"That's why we have created a pocket dimension in which the battle can be contained. "

"How do we get them in there?"

"That's where I must take credit," Kisuke cut in. "I've had Yoruichi, Jinta, Ururu and Tessai place a number of transmitters around Karakura." He held up a control with a single red button. I rolled my eyes; how original, Kisuke. "The transmitters will act as portals to the pocket dimension and any living thing within a hundred mile radius will be transported."

I raised an eyebrow; he'd been doing that this whole time? That was kind of impressive.

"Once we go live the _arrancar_ should be transported and we can deal with them there."

"When do we go live?" Ichigo asked.

"In four hours."

My eyes widened. Shinji sighed then lazily stood up.

"That's cutting it close, old man. Alright guys; let's get going; we have a lot to prepare." He pulled his hat down and sauntered out of the room, the rest of the _visored _followed him. I could have sworn Hiyori winked at me before she left.

After the _visored _were gone Yamamoto turned to us.

"Now, this battle will most likely be a distraction from Aizen's real goal which is capturing Takemitsu Hyōka."

I chewed the inside of my cheek.

"I have selected a team of _shinigami_ which I believe to be suitable to protect him."

I actually heard Ichigo clench his jaw. "I thought that he was going to be my responsibility."

"No, we need to on the battle field."

"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not one of your captains? You cannot expect me to play the role of one?" Ichigo's voice was low and did nothing to add to the tension that was pulsing through the room at the moment.

"I understand this, Kurosaki-san, but my men look up to you. It would do them good to see you fighting along with them."

Ichigo curled his hands into fists and took a few calming breaths. "Fine," he said at length through a clenched jaw, "But who will be guarding Hyōka?"

"I've assigned the job to Lieutenant Kuchiki and four others of her choice."

Ichigo seemed to relax somewhat, "Who are the four others?"

"Lieutenant Kira, and seats 7, 13, and 14 from the Thirteenth Division."

"Okay,"

"There's another thing, Ichigo," Kisuke started apprehensively, "We cannot hide him here, obviously, and the Soul Soceity isn't ideal either."

"So where?"

"We thought the last place Aizen would think of was his own home; _Hueco_ _Mundo_."

"No, that's crazy. You can't bring him back there!"

"It's the safest option if you think about it."

"That place is brimming with hollows!"

"He'll have two lieutenants with him."

"Yes, but it's still dangerous."

"This war is dangerous, Kurosaki," I said, standing up and going over to him. "Nothing is ideal right now."

He looked at me for a long minute. "You're okay with going back to _Heuco_ _Mundo_?"

I took a deep breath, "No, but what other choice do I have? It's not like I can take part in the war, I mean, I can't even hold a sword." I held up my bandaged hand. "And besides you lot won't let me, am I right?"

"I'd have to die before you fight in this battle."

I shook my head.

"What about you two?" Kisuke turned to Mikami and Teito, "You're not in any direct danger. As soon as the _arrancar_ are transported to the pocket dimension you should be safe here."

"I'm going with Hyōka." Mikami stated. Teito nodded in agreement.

Kisuke nodded.

"I'll go too, in that case," Uryu offered, "we can't be too careful."

"Good idea," Ichigo said rubbing his forehead.

"We should get ready," Teito sighed and stood up, "And I need to talk to Kamiko before we go."

Miakmi stood up as well and together she and Uryu left the room.

I was about to follow them but Kisuke stopped me. "I need a word, Hyōka."

He led me out of the room and down the corridor. Wordlessly he handed me a small, green pill.

"What's this?"

"It's a _gikongan_. Hopefully, you won't have to use it. There is a chance that Aizen will find you and if he does the lieutenants won't stand a chance against him. You know how strong he is, Rukia is good, but not that good."

I eyed the small pill. "And if Rukia and the others fail, you expect _me_ to fight Aizen? If a real _shinigami _can't beat him then I can't possibly-"

"That's just it. You're not a _shinigami_; you're a _visored_."

"I only just learnt how to control my hollow. I don't know what to do."

He put a hand on my shoulder, "You're strong, Hyōka. I've been watching you and I don't even know the extent of your powers. Aizen wants you for a reason."

I stared at him. "I don't think-"

He took my hand in his and closed it around the pill. "If it comes down to it; just believe in yourself. I've never seen anything like you before and right now I think that's a good thing."

"Urahara, you said that the transmitters will transport any living thing to the pocket dimension right?"

He didn't even seem shocked at the sudden change of topic or that I would ask him that. In fact he looked like he expected it.

"Yes, that includes any humans that are within the radius. But not to worry, I did take precautions. I had Tessai place _kido_ spells on all the buildings within the zones. So, as long as they're inside they shouldn't be zapped into the middle of a war."

"And if they're not?"

"Then I can't help them. All wars have collateral damage."

I scowled.

"Greater good, Hyōka, someday you'll understand and maybe have to make a few choices yourself."

I stared at him with a hundred questions passing through my head but none made them to my mouth.

"Hyōka?" Ichigo called from down the hallway.

Kisuke flashed me a smile before patting my head and slinking away.

"Hyōka?"

I took a deep breath and hid the _gikongan_ in my pocket. "I'm over here."

He trotted up to me. "What are you doing out here, your sister is ready to go."

I took a deep breath, "So this is it, huh?"

He was silent for a while. "I guess it is."

I closed my eyes and leaned back against the wall.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"It's a war, Ichigo. I know what wars are like. The last one I remember I... we all lost so much." I felt tears prickle at my eyes and blinked rapidly to stop them from falling.

"Hey," I felt his hands on my shoulders. I opened my eyes to see him kneeling in front of me. "This isn't going to be like last time."

I couldn't help myself; I felt a tear escape and drip down my cheek. Ichigo pulled me into his chest and hugged me tightly. "Don't you worry, I won't let anything hurt you," he whispered.

"That's not what I'm scared of."

"Hmmm?"

I took a deep breath and pulled away from his embrace. "Don't die."

A small smile formed on his face and he hugged me again.

"Please don't die."

I wished he had said something – anything at all – but he kept silent, and it was in that moment I knew just how badly off we really were. I knew Ichigo would fight his heart out and that was precisely why everything could go very wrong.

...

_What's wrong?_ I asked Toushiro. He was angrily pacing around in the snow. I could feel slight spikes in his _reiatsu_.

Hyourinmaru growled softly. _We're not cowards, Little One, especially not you._

_I know, but I cannot stand by and let all those shinigami get murdered. I am a captain; my place is with my men on the battle field!_

I sighed. _ I want to fight, you know I do; if anyone wants to kill Aizen it's me._

_So why are we going to hide?_

_If I go to fight with them I will most likely die, Toushiro._

He turned to me, his eyes flashed. _Do you honestly think that?_

_I'm not ready._ I held up my bandaged hand_, you said it yourself. If we had more time to train then I wouldn't give it a second thought but right now..._

He sighed angrily. _I know this is the best option for us, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. We will kill Aizen; if not in this battle then another or I will hunt him down._

I placed a hand on Toushiro's shoulder. _Hunt him down and make him pay. _

"You ready Hyōka?" Mikami asked, starling me from my inner world.

She was standing in my doorway. I stuffed my toy Hyourinmaru into my bag pack and grabbed a sweater.

"No. Are you?"

She sighed, "No, I don't think I'll ever be. But we'll be safe; I trust Rukia. I know everything will turn out alright."

I smiled and took her hand in mine as I passed through the doorway. "Then let's get this over with."

* * *

** Yeah, so things are going to wind down soon. I have the last couple of chapters planned out already so hopefully there will be no more three month waits... I'll try my best -_-'**

**How many people think that this will all go smoothly?**

**-Mymomomo**


	39. Chapter 39

**Is this really the second update in a month?! Yes, yes it is and I am rather proud of myself. **

**I'm sad to say that we're entering the final stages of this story :( Hyoka is about to reached the apex of his threshold for character development, so my job is almost done... it's a bittersweet moment. **

**Anyway, we still do have a few more chapters to go so hope you guys enjoy it. **

* * *

Rukia handed out thick, brown cloaks. I picked at the rough wool then sighed and threw it over my shoulders. Mikami and Teito did the same, whereas Uryu examined his for a little longer with a look of slight disgust. Rukia had introduced the three unseated _shinigami_ but I wasn't really paying attention and I instantly forgot their names. I remembered Kira from our brief meeting in the Soul Society before and Toushiro helped out a bit.

We were all preparing in Kisuke's basement. Both Rukia and Kira had knapsacks, containing what, I didn't know; maybe food and supplies to build shelter. We would probably need those if I remembered the vast, dark wasteland correctly.

Apart from the introductions, we were all silent. The war that was seconds away from starting was foremost on everyone's mind. I couldn't think of anything else; I mean people were dying, maybe not at this precise minute but they would be soon enough. I just hoped that the ones I cared about didn't fare too badly. My stomach churned with trepidation; I should have been fighting alongside them as well. This war was entirely because of me; the least I could do was show my face. I growled internally and dragged a hand down my face. I noticed that it was trembling so I curled it into a fist and shoved it into my jacket pocket. Mikami mistook the action for something else and placed her hand on my shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"Is everyone ready?" Rukia asked as she swung her bag back onto her back. Upon a nod of confirmation from everyone, she continued, "I'll be opening a _garganta_ to _Hueco_ Mundo. For those that don't already know, _Hueco Mundo_ is the world of hollows. It is dangerous, so we are to stay in a group at all times. Everyone is to suppress their _reiatsu_ as much as possible to minimise attention. If we do get separated first find shelter and then send a single pulse of _reiatsu_ so either myself, Uryu, or Kira can locate you. But take note that when you do this, hollows will sense it and come after you. "

Mikami and Teito nodded. I sighed and tried to put on a steely face, which wouldn't betray the emotions running around in my head.

"Good. Also, none of us are sure how long this war will take; we could have to stay hiding from anything to a couple hours to a few weeks. I have to warn you that this is not going to be joy ride."

Another nod. With that, Rukia withdrew her zanpakuto and sliced the air. A thin black line appeared and began to widen until it resembled a lopsided mouth. I took a deep breath and peered into the opening. My heart began to race against my will as I stared at the black sky and white sand.

_It's going to be okay,_ Toushiro reassured me. _Just remember to suppress your reiatsu._

_This is a stupid plan; I bet you anything Aizen is going to find us._

_Foolish plans work the best sometimes..._

_Not this time. It's like Kisuke is trying to get us to fight Aizen; he gave me the gikongan and everything. _

Toushiro chewed the inside of his cheek as if debating on what he was going to say next. _ I want to fight him... I don't know exactly what Kisuke is playing at but if this plan gives us a chance to get at Aizen then I'll go along with it._

Hyourinmaru grumbled_, You two... stop this. Do not wish Aizen upon our group. It's bad enough that we have to bring them to Hueco Mundo._

Toushiro hung his head and I looked away from the dragon.

_You're right, Hyourinmaru... _he muttered.

_I know how much you two want to get back at Aizen, but I thought you knew that this was our best course of action. Believe me, I want to fight too, but we need to place our trust in the Gotei Thirteen this time around. And if Aizen does attack us then our first and foremost plan of action will be to protect the others. So, stop acting like revenge driven animals._

Toushiro took the chiding like the captain he was – straight backed and emotionless. I, however, wasn't trained accordingly.

_If I had my way then we wouldn't be running away. I don't want to put anyone in harm's way and that includes the Gotei Thirteen._

Hyrourinmaru snorted and stream of cold mist escaped from his nostrils. He brought his snout inches away from my face. _Who placed that duty on your shoulders? The Gotei isn't yours to protect; you aren't ready to take that burden upon yourself, Hatchling._

I blinked. _But this war is because of me! It's my fault if any of them die!_

_No. It's Aizen's fault; he waged the war. So, it's not your job to protect everyone out there. _

_But-_

_There are times where you can not be the hero._

I scowled and turned away from him. _ It still doesn't feel right. _

Toushiro sighed, _it doesn't, but let's just focus on keeping Teito and Mikami safe. _

I nodded and followed Rukia as she leapt into the portal.

...

We couldn't travel as fast as the _shinigami _would have liked since Teito and Mikami were human and couldn't use _shunpo_. So we made our way across the immense wastelands at a brisk march. Rukia lead the way, followed by one of the unseated _shinigami,_ while Kira and the other two brought up the rear. Uryu had taken it upon himself to do reconnaissance. He was far up ahead scanning for hollows. The journey was silent for the most part, except for our breathing. _Hueco Mundo_ had not changed one bit since I last saw it. It felt the same: dead. There was no wind; no sign of movement, even the light from the crescent moon did not quite seem to reach the ground. This was a cold and hostile world perfectly suited for hollows.

I took periodic glances at both Mikami and Teito. They were both scared. A few times Teito had caught me looking at him a quickly changed to his trademark smile, but I could tell it was forced. It didn't reach his eyes, which were wide and flittered all about. Mikami had her arms wrapped around her torso and her cloak was pulled tightly about. She didn't try to hide her downcast expression, but wouldn't look up from her feet.

The pressure from the hollows must have been very wearing on the two. I knew they had both felt hollows before, but never to this extent. Even I felt somewhat stifled, but they kept silent about it and marched on with the rest of us. I know if was in their place I would have complained until the others stopped for a break.

'_Cause you're a spoilt brat,_ Hyourinmaru supplied, trying to lessen the tension from our prior disagreement.

I scowled at him._ I am not._

He snorted,_ Whatever makes you sleep at night._

I turned to Toushiro. _I'm not spoilt, am I?"_

He hesitated.

_What? I am not!_

_I didn't say anything. You're a little selfish if anything, but you're getting better at that._

I folded my arms across my chest. _I can't believe the two of you._

_What's not to believe? Remember that time you went to Sapporo without telling anyone?_ Toushiro asked.

_That was ages ago._

He shook his head and smiled slightly. _We have come a long way since then, I suppose._

I turned away from them; I could almost see Las Noches in the distance and clenched my jaw against the memories from the last time I was here. I was stronger than I'd been back then; I would not let Aizen get to me again.

Around two hours later I called a break. The others didn't want to stop, but I said that I needed five minutes or I would stop whether they liked it or not. I was not really tired, thanks to all that training and my new found _reiatsu_ I could go on for miles without breaking a sweat, but I noticed that Mikami's breathing was laboured and Teito was a shade paler than normal.

So we all sat down in a small dip sheltered by a pair of tall sand dunes and Kira passed around a water bottle. As we rested Rukia sent two of the unseated _shinigami _to scout the area to make sure nothing would sneak up on us and to notify Uryu that we had stopped. She climbed to the top of one of the dunes and scanned the area as well. After making sure that Mikami and Teito were okay I followed her.

The sand was loose and slippery and got into my sneakers; I ended up climbing the dune on all fours. As I neared the top I heard her chuckle slightly then she helped me up the rest of the way.

"You're not really tired are you?" she asked.

"No. But Mikami and Teito are. They're still human; we can't push them that hard."

"Yeah, I realised."

"Where are we heading? I assume you have some sort of plan and we're not just wondering aimlessly."

She pointed to the distance. I saw the outline of what looked like a forest.

"Over there's the _menos_ forest. Don't give me that look; we're not going in. Besides, they live really deep in. There are a few caves just before the forest begins; we can hide out in one of those."

I nodded. "It's a long way off, though."

"If it comes down to it we can carry your brother and sister."

"I don't think they'll let you."

She smiled again. "You ready to head out?"

I nodded. As we made our way back to the others I noticed that Uryu had rejoined us and was sitting next to Mikami quietly telling her something. I frowned; this was not the time to be flirting. There was a war going on for god's sake. I marched up to him and loudly announced that it was time to move on.

"Smooth," Teito mumbled under his breath and started a small round of laughter.

I guess we needed something to break the tension, but I wasn't trying to be funny and couldn't stop my cheeks from turning red in slight embarrassment.

...

After another long journey the sands gave way to rock formations. We walked along what looked like a dried up riverbed. Cliffs towered high above us a blocked out the light from the moon. Each of us cast long shadows that danced in between the crevices and crannies as we moved. Our footsteps echoed up the canyon adding to the already foreboding feeling the place was giving off. I could have sworn that I saw a couple of the shadows move and heard more than a few rocks fall down the steep sides of the canyon.

The canyon offered us a bit of cover but it made me feel more uneasy than I felt on the open sands. I could feel the hairs at the back of my neck stand up and my arms broke out in goose bumps.

A few minutes later the ground began to shake and more stones were knocked loose; a bit of loose rubble and sand fell on top of us. Rukia, Kira, Uryuu and the rest of the _shinigami_ sent each other a quick look before forming a circle around Mikami, Teito, and me and herding us into a shallow cave. They blocked the entrance and I saw both Rukia and Kira's hands fly to their _zanpakuto_. Seconds later there was a surge in spiritual pressure; a hollow. My eyes widened as I saw a huge, white foot block the entrance of the cave.

"_Menos_," I breathed. I knew they were big, but I hadn't realised that they would be this big. Its foot alone had to be at least four stories high – it completely blocked the entrance of the cave. But what was surprising was that it didn't feel as strong as an _arrancar_. Don't get me wrong, it felt plenty strong, much stronger than the stray hollows I had seen around Karakura, but compared to the _arrancar_ I had seen it was weak. But what it lacked in strength it made up for in size; I still felt terror course through me at the sight.

Mikami drew in a sharp breath and I saw Teito reach for his gun.

"Calm down," Uryu instructed quietly, "it may be big but it's stupid. Don't give it any reason to notice us and it should pass us by without trouble."

Teito nodded and took a few deep breaths. Mikami also swallowed and wrapped her arms around herself again. After what felt like an eternity the _menos_ passed. We waited a little longer before Uryu poked his head out of the cave and announced that it was safe.

"What was that?" Teito asked.

"A _menos_," Rukia answered, "they're a class of hollow. Like Uryuu said, they're big but not the strongest hollow around. We could have taken it if we weren't trying to keep a low profile."

"We'll probably be seeing quite a few of them in this canyon," Kira added, "so we need to hurry and find shelter."

Around twenty minutes later we found another cave that was large enough for all of us and then some. We quickly cleared an area in the middle of sand and rubble and Rukia and Kira began unpacking supplies from their bags. They passed around another water bottle and once again we lapsed into silence.

"And now we wait," Teito muttered his voiced echoed eerily around the cave.

I'm not sure how long we sat huddled in silence; not even Toushiro or Hyourinmaru were making a sound. We couldn't light a fire because smoke would fill the cave and draw attention, also most likely suffocate us since there was only one exit. I hadn't realised how cold Hueco Mundo was before, but I guessed that's why we had been given cloaks.

The silence was literally deafening; I could practically feel its pressure on my ear drums and covering them didn't make any sense. I picked at the gauze wrapped around my right hand for want of something to do. Mikami scowled and grabbed my hand to stop me.

"What did you do to yourself?" she asked. Even her soft tone was magnified in the silence of the cave. Everyone turned to me.

"Um..." I glanced to the _shinigami_. I didn't think that they knew, or were supposed to know, about my hollow. "Training."

She raised her eyebrows in understanding and at the same time urged me to go on.

I knew she was going to make a big deal about this. Even Teito looked piqued. I chewed the inside of my cheek for a brief moment.

"Okay, don't freak out-"

She winced and Teito shook his head, "Saying that makes us worry even more, Koko-chan."

I scratched the back of my neck with my good hand. "I lost three fingers," I blurted and quickly looked away.

"W-w-wh-what?" Mikami stammered. I spared a look at the others. Teito's mouth was hanging open slightly, Uryuu let out a low whistle, Rukia and Kira looked shocked, and the other _shinigami_ were obviously confused.

"B-but don't worry," I said waving my hands, "They're growing back."

"What?!" Mikami exclaimed.

"Kido," I explained, "Hachi, did something, and now they're growing back."

She blinked slowly then shook her head.

"Three fingers," Teito muttered, "that must have hurt."

I shrugged, "I don't remember. I didn't even notice at first but then my hand went numb."

"You didn't notice that you lost three fingers?" Uryuu asked.

I narrowed my eyes at his tone. "It was in the middle of battle; adrenaline was pumping."

He shook his head and chuckled softly, "I know you're Hitsugaya's reincarnation but you act more like Ichigo than anything."

I raised my eyebrows. That was the first time anyone had ever said that. "I'm noting like that idiot," I snapped.

He simply replied with an amused look.

_He has a point_, Toushiro noted.

_What? Not you too,_ I groaned.

_You're both rather reckless. _

_And what about you? You rush at things without thinking._

_I'm only reckless when I'm angry._

_Which is ninety percent of the time. _

He rolled his eyes.

"So, Teito," Rukia said, changing the subject, "I heard you were getting married."

"Oh, um," he grinned stupidly, "Yeah, in a couple of months, hopefully."

"Congratulations, who's the lucky girl?"

Teito spent the next hour or so describing Kamiko. I mean none of us really minded, his chatter was uplifting, to say the least, and it distracted us from what was actually going on. We were sort of half smiling by the time he was done, but of course we could not stay happy for too long. A shrill beeping noise came from the inside of Rukia's cloak causing the atmosphere of the cave to instantly take a dour turn. Everyone watched with baited breath as she pulled a small mobile phone from the folds of her _kosode_. She nervously flipped the phone open and brought it to her ear. I couldn't hear what the person on the other end was saying but judging from the expression on her face it was not something good.

I chewed the inside of my cheek as I watched the exchange. Rukia's scowl made me nervous. After what felt like an eternity she closed the phone with a dull snap and stared at it for a short second before taking a deep breath and turning to us.

"What's going on?" I demanded, jumping to my feet and glaring at her.

Mikami reached up and pulled me back down, "Hyōka," she started, trying to calm me down, but her death grip on my arm told me that she was near breaking point herself. "Who was that? Is everyone okay?"

Rukia took another breath, "No, Aizen had much more soldiers than expected and... well the _shinigami_ are having a hard time."

I knew that was a euphemism for they were getting slaughtered. I clenched my jaw and could feel Toushiro stirring in my mind.

"Kisuke's teleportation method worked, so there was barely any damage done to Karakura." I saw Teito let out a breath of relief. "But we need more soldiers we already called upon the auxiliary forces." She turned to the other _shinigami_, "you two come with me-"

"Wait!" I called out as she stood up to go, "Just how bad is it out there? Were you really that unprepared?"

She looked at me with a heavy gaze, "You saw the soldiers we have; of course we were unprepared."

"Then why are we even fighting?"

She hesitated for a minute before answering. "It's the right thing to do."

As I watched her go I felt a dull throbbing in my stomach; I should have been out there fighting. I clenched my fists. Staying here had been the smart choice, but it did not necessarily mean that it was the right one. I had known this from the start but had chosen to ignore it; why? The throbbing turned into an angry burn. I was hiding like a coward in a desert when I should be fighting. I could handle the _arrancar_, I knew it, and I possibly could have saved some the untrained _shinigami_ from dying.

Toushiro turned towards me. _You really think so?_

I looked at him and tightly clenched my jaw but did not say anything.

He stood up. _Let's get going then._

"Hyōka, no," Teito growled, "I know what you're thinking. You're not going out there; the plan is to keep you safe, remember."

"Well the plan is stupid!" I yelled, rounding on him, "I can't just sit here in silence while people are out there dying!"

"That's what war is like; people die. And people will die whether you're there or not."

"I know people die, but I should be fighting with them. This is my battle just as much as theirs. We should be fighting together; _that's_ what war is like!"

"You don't know what war is like-"

"I do! More than any of you here."

He huffed, "That wasn't you, Hyōka-"

"It was. I am Toushiro, okay. I have every single one of his memories so, don't you dare lecture me on what war is!" I stood up.

"Hyōka, calm down," Miakmi started. "Aizen's goal is to get to you, remember?"

"All the more reason for me to be on the battle field. This war is because of me; I should be doing something to help."

"You will be helping by going along with the plan. It's a _plan_ for a reason. I trust Urahara-san to do what's best for everyone and so should you."

I snorted and shook my head. "He does what he thinks is best for the greater good not for everyone on a personal level."

She frowned.

"Do you really think he was doing what he thought was best for me when he turned me into a _shinigami_? He's a scientist; his goal is experimentation. And I suppose you already knew that anyone who was outside at the time his teleportation network went live was transported to the middle of the battle field and called collateral damage."

I paused at the look on her face; I probably should not have said that. I really needed to keep better tabs on my tongue. I did not need to look at Teito to see that he had gone back to worrying again.

"Is this true?" Mikami asked turning to Uryu.

He was reluctant to start. "Essentially yes, but-"

"Did you know about this?"

"I'm sorry, Mikami, but war gives leeway to these kinds of things. As bad as it seems it was the lesser of two evils."

"And we're the only civilians that matter, I suppose," her tone was full of bitterness. "Everyone matters; that's why I became a doctor, to save people. And here you are, you high and mighty _shinigami_, planning wars that could wipe out entire cities just because some people aren't important enough!"

"No one's less important, but you said it yourself just a while ago, Hyōka is Aizen's target, we need to keep him away."

She turned to me eyes flaming but her gaze softened slightly when our eyes met.

I grit my teeth when I realised that Uryu was doing the same thing to Mikami that the others had done to me since we met; he was protecting her from the truth. This was a terrible plan; we were in the middle of Aizen's domain. I'm sure he knew that while we were hiding here we were waiting for a horde of _arrancar_ to come popping out of thin air any moment. Neither Mikami nor Teito knew this; as far as they knew Aizen was clueless. They did not know to what extent he controlled the hollows. I was stunned to find myself being, for once, the one who had the information. And suddenly I realised why Ichigo and the rest of the _shinigami_ had been so reluctant to tell me anything. I had the choice to either tell Mikami and Teito what really was going on or to keep quiet and give them peace of mind and a sense of security.

I huffed; there was no way I could bring myself to make them more uneasy than they already were.

_So where does that leave us?_ Toushiro asked.

I retreated into my inner world. _I can't stay here._ I muttered as I kicked a particularly large snow bank. _People are unnecessarily dying out there and I'm pretty sure that Aizen is going to find me any minute now. I have to go; there's no question about it. _

_They're not going to let you go that easily and now you're reluctant to tell them why they're not safe here. _

_They're safe here, just not with me. As soon as I'm gone they'll be out of Aizen's line of fire. We've made this choice before; I'd rather put myself at risk if it means saving the ones I care about. _

Hyourinmaru snorted. You think that this is the best course of action? Do you think you have better odds on the battlefield?

_The people there know how to fight. Neither Mikiami nor Teito have seen war. I need to get away from them if I am to protect them. _

Hyourinmaru sighed heavily, _And so the hammer falls; let us go to war. _

I smiled.

"What's that face for?" Tieto growled.

I realised that I had been smiling externally as well and quickly let the expression fall from my face. "I've made a choice, and I expect all of you to back me up."

He rolled his eyes. "Here we go again; you're staying here. None of us are letting you go out there; it's suicide."

I went on like he hadn't interrupted me, "I've made a choice and I think it's the right one."

"Hyōka, no. Don't you dare-"

In one fluid motion I grabbed the _gikongan _from my pocket and swallowed it. Before my body even had a chance to hit the floor I _shunpoed_ out of the cave and minutes later I was running across the sands. I knew the _shunpo_ would get the hollow stirring so I needed to get as far away as possible from the others. I was confident in my escape until I felt a small spike in Kira's _reiatsu_.

_Shit, _Toushiro swore,_ I forgot about him, he's highly skilled in kido so-_

As he spoke I felt something wrap around my ankles and I went tumbling face forward into to the sand.

"I'm sorry, Hitsu- Hyōka-kun, but I cannot let you go out there." Kira knelt down in front of me and placed two fingers on my temple. I saw black spots begin to creep in to my vision and not too long after that I lost consciousness.

...

"_Is that the best you can do?"_

_I spun around to see Aizen smirking like the bastard he was. _

_I let loose a growl and held my sword out at him. "Don't get cocky, Bastard; I'm going to hack you to pieces!"_

_He raised an eyebrow, "Oh really, how is that so when you can't even protect the ones you hold dear?"_

"_What?" My stomach sank as I spun around to see Momo, Rangiku, Ukitake, and a number of other people held captive by a number of arrancar. What the hell? How did this happen._

"_If you had been stronger then this wouldn't have happened," he taunted._

_I felt anger flare up in my chest, "I'm going to murder you for doing this!"_

"_I don't think so."_

"_BASTARD!" I yelled and swung my sword at his head, or rather where his head should have been. He wasn't there anymore. I gasped and spun around searching for him. I heard him laugh._

"_You're pathetic."_

_I couldn't even register what happened next. I looked down and saw the cross gaud of his sword pressed against my chest, right above my heart. The blade was buried deep in my body, his hand held it firmly in place. As his laughter grew sudden, unbearable pain blossomed throughout my chest._

"_B-bast-t-tard..." I managed to stammer as blood dripped out of my mouth._

_My vision began to swim and I began to feel light headed. The sword was ripped out of my chest but all I saw was an explosion of red. I wasn't sure if it was just my imagination or if all that blood had really just come spurting out of my body. And then the pain hit, mind numbing pain, I coughed again causing my chest to feel like it was going to tear open from the pressure and I was choking on the blood._

"_Weak, that's what you are."_

"_Pathetic."_

_Blackness began to swim in the corners of my eyes._

"_Failure."_

_The buildings drew closer at an alarming rate._

"_Unable to protect those who you hold dear."_

_I felt my body grow cold._

"_Inadequate."_

_Numb._

"_Powerless."_

My eyes opened with a jolt I was laying face down in the snow. My heart was racing at a hundred miles per hour and I felt light headed. I swallowed and slowly sat up mindlessly rubbing at the scar on my chest; it was slightly throbbing. Toushiro was sitting next to me with his head in his hands.

_Why is it always that memory you have when you're unconscious?_

I swallowed again noticing how dry my throat was. I was willing myself not to have a panic attack; I was over those; I hadn't had one in a while and I hoped to keep it that way.

Toushiro sighed softly and I felt him place a hand on my shoulder. _We're about to do something that could result in our death; if you weren't scared then there would be something wrong with you. _

I nodded. _Kira, brought us back, though._

_Minor setback,_ Hyourinmaru rumbled.

I raised an eyebrow. _That was some really strong kido_

_You forget, Hatchling, that you have the reiatsu of a captain class shinigami and I, well, I am a dragon._

* * *

**Well, Hyoka did have some mixed feelings about going to Hueco Mundo... so if I have him being so undecisive then that's why. **

**Also, I couldn't find anything about shinigami being able to open a garganta so for the sake of the story I'm letting them. **

**It kind of went smoothly, actually... but to everyone who predicted that it wouldn't: we're not out of the bushes yet ;) **

**Comments and, yes still at this stage, queries are welcome.**

**-Mymomomo**


	40. Chapter 40

**As promised done for Spring break :) met the deadline with one day to spare.**

**Thanks to all my reviewers, favouriters, and alert...ers **

**Hope you all enjoy **

* * *

Kira noticed as soon as I opened my eyes that I had broken his _kido_ spell. He stared at me for a split second before jumping to re-do the _kido_. I shot him a dirty look before he could cast the spell and – this was one of the few times where I was glad for how much I resembled Toushiro – he swallowed heavily before sitting back down. Toushiro snorted in amusement.

I stretched my arms and legs briefly then sat cross-legged across from the others. Uryu glared at me as if daring me to try to run again while Mikami and Teito looked as if they were seeing me for the first time. I rolled my shoulders – binding kido sure did leave you feeling sore afterwards – and looked away from them. They hadn't seen me use my _shinigami_ powers before; they really didn't know what I could do. That, and my body was sitting a few feet away from me calmly drawing patterns in the thin layer of sand that covered the cave floor. I found that I couldn't tear my eyes away from it as easily as I did from my brother and sister.

"What was that?" Teito demanded after a short while. He had forgone looking mystified and settled on being angry with me.

I raised an eyebrow. "You can't keep me here. I told you it's my duty to be on the battlefield."

He huffed, "and it's _my_ duty to keep _you_ safe."

I folded my arms across my chest. "I can take care of myself now, Teito, thank you for all you have done in the past but I can stand on my own now."

He gave me a funny look but didn't say anything.

"Hyōka," Uryu started but a sudden movement at the entrance of the cave had his arms flying to draw an arrow. I jumped to attention as well, resting my hand on the hilt of Hyourinmaru and spinning towards the intruder.

In the entrance of the cave stood a tall, spindly _arrancar._ It swayed gently, as if it was drunk, but the small spark in its otherwise lifeless eyes told me that it was more than alert. It had its hand resting on a sword at its hip. It was left handed I noted; that would make fighting it slightly different since its attacks would come from the off side. I gripped Hyourinmaru tighter, but I didn't like how the gauze around my palm slipped against the cloth bindings.

The _arrancar_ calmly stepped forward. "Lord Aizen wants to see you now," it hissed at me, "he said this game of hide-and-seek was over."

I huffed; it hadn't taken him long to find us at all, assuming that he hadn't known that we were in _Hueco_ _Mundo _in the first place.

"Once again, why would I willingly go with Aizen?" I spat at it.

It stared at me with emotionless eyes. "He told me to tell you the longer you stay here the more of your friends will die."

I grit my teeth.

"And a lot of them _are_ dying."

"Hyōka," Uryu warned, "don't do anything stupid now."

I sent him a sharp glare.

"So either come with me, or I shall notify Lord Aizen that he is free to wipe out the entire _shinigami_ race," the _arrancar_ continued.

_There is no way he has that much power._ Toushiro noted, _he can't take out the whole race. _

I nodded then turned back to the _arrancar_. "I'll decide to face Aizen on my own terms."

It sighed then drew its sword, "He doesn't want that."

Uryu let loose a couple dozen arrows but only a few of them hit the _arrancar_. It was fast; within seconds there was a sharp clang of steel from where I blocked its attack. I pushed it back and instantly Kira and the other _shinigami _were at my side.

_It's one of the modified ones,_ Toushiro supplied, _mass produced and weak. You can handle it._

I could already tell without his commentary that I was much stronger than the _arrancar_. I signalled to Kira and the other _shinigami_ to fall back and attacked. It managed to block, but after a quick side swipe, I had landed a very deep blow to its side. It groaned in pain and stumbled to the ground clutching its side.

"Kill me and a thousand more _arrancar_ will be on your back," it warned.

I stood over it and shoved my zanpakuto into its chest. The small light left its eyes and blood gurgled at the back of its throat for a while before it let out a wet, strangled noise and slumped lifelessly to the ground.

"I can handle it," I sneered softly as I withdrew my blade from its chest and flicked the blood from the metal. I turned to the others. "Okay, so new plan of action-"

"There is no new plan," Uryu cut me off, "we're sticking to the old plan."

I rolled my eyes, "More _arrancar_ are going to be coming this way and unless you want to be surrounded in the next – I'd say around – fifteen minutes, you'll let me go."

"Hyōka," Teito sighed, "just stop and think for a while,"

I turned to him, "I have been thinking; I've been thinking really hard. Aizen knows we're here and he's going to send more _arrancar_ after us. The most logical thing for me to do is to get away from you."

"No," he shook his head, "I'm not letting you go out there."

"I can fight them; you can't."

He clenched his fists and looked like he had just swallowed something very bitter. "I know you can and that's what is bothering me. It's not supposed to be like this; you're not supposed to be like this. You're a thirteen-year-old kid, damnit; you're supposed to be a child!"

I glanced down at the _zanpakuto _in my hands. The cold metal shone, reminding me of all the battles I'd fought. Toushiro's and my memories had been merged to the point where I could barely distinguish who they belonged to.

I sighed and looked up at Teito, "I'm sorry; any chance I had of a childhood was gone even before I was born. Look, if I leave now you won't have _arrancar_ pouring down your throat-"

"Be careful."

We all turned to Mikami. She had been silent for some time now, I realised. Maybe it was the shock of it all, but I had a feeling that she was beginning to understand exactly what the war meant.

"What?" I didn't think I had heard her correctly.

"But the plan, Mikami," Uryu started, walking up to her.

She sighed, "the plan's gone to the dogs. We were only here for the element of surprise and now that's gone; what's the point?"

"There's a war out there-"

"And he's a warrior."

A unanimous silence fell upon the cave.

She looked at me, "It's not just Hyōka anymore, is it?"

I blinked then slowly shook my head. It wasn't just me; the strange thirteen year old. I was a _shinigami_, a captain, a _visored_; I wasn't just her little brother anymore. She sighed and gave me a sad smile, "just stay safe, okay?"

...

I landed hard on the pavement but ignored the impact which jarred me up to my knees. Kauakura was like a ghost town at this time of night. There was not a single life form out and about. I huffed and trotted along the sidewalk. This was a good thing though; this war did not need any more collateral.

_One of Kisuke's transmitters is up ahead, _Toushiro informed me. I nodded; I could feel it, a sparkle of _reiatsu_ that seemed to be sucking everything in around it.

_I didn't realise that these things would still be live,_ I muttered.

_It works in our favour. _Toushiro shrugged._ Now remember that we're going to be transported into the middle of a battle field. Do not let your guard down even for a second._

_Yes, Dad._

He stared at me for a second with a slight twitch in his jaw. _This is serious, Hyōka, don't make jokes. _

I reached behind me and drew Hyourinmaru from his sheath. I really didn't like how the gauze was slipping against him. I switched the sword to my left hand and gripped the blade lightly with my right until I felt the slight sting of the metal against my palm. Ripping away the rest of the bandage with my teeth I grinned as I examined my hand. The three fingers that had been cut off looked more or less normal, I mean they were somewhat shrivelled and pearly white, but at least I could move them freely. I switched my _zanpakuto _back to my dominant hand briefly wondering how the bindings were still in pristine condition even with all the cuts and scrapes that had decorated my hands.

Hyourinmaru snorted,_ I have more pride than that, Hatchling._

I immediately pictured him curled up in a ball licking his front paws, with his forked tongue, like a cat. He snorted again.

_Yeah, it goes something like that_, Toushiro said, slightly amused.

Now smiling, I gripped my blade tighter and locked my gaze onto the transmitter. It was a small, black, metal disk, about the size of a one hundred yen coin stuck to the side of a trashcan. I took a deep breath and stepped towards it. I felt a slight tug on my body like tiny tendrils had wrapped around my limbs. I let myself get pulled along by them and in split seconds Karakua Town disappeared in chunks and was replaced with what looked like Kisuke's basement. First the buildings were replaced by the jagged brown cliffs, the night sky turned into day, and the pavement was replaced by rust coloured dirt. It was disorienting to say the least, but the moment the scenery materialised in full a sword was swung at my head. I ducked and quickly dispatched the attacker. I guess appearing in the middle of an ongoing war was not the best idea. _Arrancar_ after _arrancar_ appeared faster than I could kill and I still hadn't gotten my bearings straight.

I swore; I needed to at least get a picture of what was going on. I kicked an _arrancar_ in the stomach and used him as a springboard to jump over the rest of the _arrancar's_ heads. In the brief seconds I was airborne I could see clumps of people fighting. It was a mass of black and white and red. I instantly felt sick to my stomach; hundreds were already dead. I needed to find a live _shinigami_ and learn exactly how we were faring in this battle, because from where I was standing it did not look too good.

Just then I felt a surge of a familiar _reiatsu_ and all the _arrancar_ around me were turned into black smudges. At the same time I felt someone throw me over their shoulder and jump into a _shunpo_.

"What the hell are you doing here, Hyōka?"

I turned my head but was blinded by a bushy, red ponytail. "What does it look like, Abarai? Fighting."

He heaved a sigh, "The others aren't going to be happy about this. You're supposed to be hiding."

"Aizen found us."

He swore.

Minutes later he set me down. I gazed around; the light was tinted yellow and there were numerous wounded _shinigami_ lying on mats. A healing area, I assumed.

"Stay here," Renji instructed, "I'll get someone to keep you safe."

I caught his sleeve before he could _shunpo_ away. "If you think I came here to be _safe_ then you're even more of an idiot than I originally thought. What's our status?"

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Quickly Abarai!"

He snapped to attention. "Right, we've just called in the auxiliary forces, and we're faring much better. Aizen's forces still outnumber us but we've managed to hold them back."

I nodded. "How many are dead?"

"Less than two eights of our original numbers."

"Wounded?"

He glanced around the area. I followed his gaze quickly counting about fifty soldiers in various states of injury and recovery.

"There are around twelve of these healing stations; all packed to capacity."

This situation was not good but neither was it hopeless. Still the war needed to be ended before we lost any more soldiers.

"Twelve is not enough..." I muttered.

"What was that, sir?"

"Where are the other captains?"

"Most are on the field."

"And Ichigo?"

"Probably out there with them."

I nodded and hoped that he wasn't hurt. "Has Aizen made an appearance?"

"Yes, but he's surrounded himself with his strongest _espada_ so we haven't been able to reach him."

I nodded. "So, I'm assuming that our current plan is to get rid of the _espada_ and expose Aizen."

He nodded.

"Then let's go,"

"Captain... Hyōka," he stopped me from _shunpo-ing_ from the healing station, "You're not going anywhere. I don't know what training you've been through, but you're not going up against any _espada_ let alone Aizen. You'll be flattened."

I grit my teeth. "Let me worry about that-"

"No, I'm not sure exactly what's going on, but I know that Aizen's target is you. If you go running straight into his arms then what's the point of this battle?"

"You people seriously underestimate me," I growled.

"You might be Captain Hitsugaya's reincarnation, but you don't exactly have his powers."

I clenched my jaw and thought back to the onslaught on the battlefield; soldiers were needlessly dying out there. It was wrong and unfair. This needed to end and it needed to end now. I felt a fire spark to life in the pit of my stomach.

_Hyourinmaru!_

The dragon gazed at me, his ruby eyes blazing. _What is it you need?_

_Lend me your power._

_All you have to do is say the words._

The words... many a time I had fought alongside Hyourinmaru. He and Toushiro had moved as one. Their souls... our souls were seamless. I remembered the cold power rushing through me, the ease which with I controlled the skies, and the raw energy that I could bend to my whim. Even now I could feel it inside me, but it was encased in a thick layer of ice, dormant, sleeping, waiting for me to release it. I closed my eyes and concentrated. There was a flicker of a blue flame from behind a dense wall of ice. I placed my palm against the wall and tiny cracks spider-webbed outwards. The fire roared to life and flames flicked out from the cracks. I pushed hard against the ice and, with a deafening crack, the wall came tumbling down. Cold flames surrounded me and I had never felt more at home.

I pointed Hyourinmaru to the skies and gripped him with two hands. I drew in a smooth breath and released it slowly.

"Reign,"

Renji's eyes widened comically.

"Over the frosted heavens,"

He took a step back.

"Hyourinmaru!"

The dragon roared and I felt my _reiatsu _flare. My _zanpakuto_ lengthened slightly, I also found myself holding an ice cold chain ending in a crescent, sickle-like blade. I tried not to look too surprised, I had to play it off in front of Renji, but damn this felt cool. Now to cap it all off by saying something badass.

"I don't like to be underestimated."

I felt Toushiro facepalm and Renji's mouth dropped to his feet.

...

"I knew I felt your _reiatsu_," Ichigo growled. He was thankfully unhurt, sweating profusely, and sporting a few bruises but miraculously unscathed. "What are you doing here? What the hell were you thinking brining him here?" he turned on Renji for the last line.

We stood on a cliff a good distance away from the bulk of the fighting. I could see a ring of Aizen's _espada_ in the sky a way off.

Renji held his hands up in defence. "He has _shikai_."

"What?" Ichigo spat and turned to glare at me, "Since when?"

"Like two minutes ago." I answered shrugging.

Ichigo turned to glare at Renji again who in turn sent me a stink eye.

"Look, you guys need all the help you can get; you can't afford to be picky. I'll back off when we go up against the _espada,_ but I'm done with sitting around and watching people die."

Ichigo sighed. "Your sister is going to kill me..."

"She knows I'm here."

"What?" his eyes bulged. "Please tell me she and Teito aren't here too."

"I'm not stupid, Kurosaki." I said, rolling my eyes. "They're with Ishida and Izuru back in _Hueco Mundo_."

"So how did you escape?"

"Aizen found us so I left to keep them safe."

"And they let you?"

"Excuse me; I thought there was a war going on here!"

He huffed. "Goddamnit, Hyōka, why do you always do this to me? Cover me and don't do anything stupid."

"Why do you people always assume I'm going to do something stupid?" I muttered.

He raised an eyebrow, "Because you always do."

Renji left to go aid another platoon, and Ichigo and I dove head first into battle. Fighting with _shikai_ was easier and at the same time it was harder. I mean my moves flowed more freely and I could take out multiple enemies at one by creating dragons out of ice and using my chain blade, but it took up much more energy than normal. Maybe if I had a chance to train more...

"We're going to force the _arrancar _back," Ichigo instructed, "we need to turn the tables and get these _shinigami_ out of battle before any more of them die."

"Right,"

"You stay here; don't move, I'm going to round up the strongest fighters out of these guys, we should make some headway then." He jumped into the sky and stayed there as if the air had solidified under his feet. "Don't move," he warned me again before dashing off to the front lines.

I rolled my eyes and ensnared two _arrancar_ with my chain before freezing them and shattering them into a million pieces. Honestly, I wasn't that bad, was I?

_Mmm, well..._

_Shut up._

Seconds later I heard various _shinigami_ yelling 'fall back'. I continued battling the _arrancar_ around me while the soldiers in black fled the front lines. I frowned but it all became clear when I heard Ichigo let out a fearsome yell.

"_Getsuga tenshou_!"

What looked like a wave of raw energy sliced the battlefield in half. Its momentum caused my clothes to ripple against my body. I almost felt sorry for the _arrancar_ caught in that blast. But now there was a clear line between the _shinigami_ and the _arrancar_. Without pausing to think I ran to the chasm in the earth. Drawing up my _reiatsu_ with a deep breath I held up my _zanpakuto_. The situation was not ideal and usually it would take a considerable amount of time to perform this technique, but time was something I did not have at the moment.

_No way, Hyōka, this is going to drain you, _Toushiro warned.

_Then stop criticising me and help_, I muttered, _this is the only way I can see us having any effect on the number of arrancar._

_You're going to handicap yourself for this?_

_It's not a handicap if we can stop the battle._

_You're a fool._

_So I've been told. _

I scrambled to control and direct my _reiatsu _to the attack. Even Toushiro had never done this so quickly before. Admittedly, I didn't have the best control over my _reiatsu_ as yet so the attack would not be at its full power and, since I was rushing to complete it, it would be weakened still, not to mention I was using _shikai_ not _bankai_. But, it would be helpful to everyone around and I would not let this opportunity slip through my fingers.

_Let's go, Hyourinmaru._

He roared and I could feel power surging through my arms. At the back of my mind I heard Toushiro sigh then help to guide my _reiatsu_.

"_Sennen Hyoro,_"

As the ice pillars rose from the ground I felt an immense amount of energy leave my body. I swallowed and straightened my back despite the fact that my legs were beginning to feel like jelly. I held my sword arm out and grit my teeth as I watched the pillars grow in length and encircle majority of the _arrancar; _they were noticeably thinner than I remembered and even melting in some parts. Well, it was better than nothing. I turned my zanpakuto ninety degrees counter clockwise and watched, with growing lethargy, as they drew closer together trapping the _arrancar_ in a prison of ice.

Quite a few had managed to escape before the attack was sealed and even then I knew that it wouldn't be able to hold the rest. I drew up my remaining _reiatsu_ and focused on solidifying the ice prison. I began to feel dizzy but focused on freezing solid all those trapped. Toushiro was keeping guard over the attack and making sure I didn't kill myself. At his command I released my connection with the attack and caused the mass of ice to shatter and dissipate into thin air, taking with it a good amount of the _arrancar_ that had been trapped, the rest would take some time to thaw out completely.

I grinned in success before collapsing to my knees and gasping for air. As soon as I hit the ground I felt someone scoop me up and carry me away from the middle of the battle.

"What the hell was that, Hyōka?" Ichigo demanded.

"It worked, didn't it?"

He sighed and shook his head. "You idiot! Within minutes of learning your _shikai _you totally tap yourself out."

"I was under the impression that I helped," I snarled.

"You did, but now everyone knows you're here... Aizen included."

"Good-"

"No! Not good. I've called the rest of the captains to help guard you, but with those _espada_ I'm not sure how much guarding can already be done..."

"Wow, Hyōka-kun, that was amazing!" I was plucked out of Ichigo's arms and smashed, face first, into a pair of ginormous breasts.

"Matsumoto, put me down!" I exclaimed, trying my best not to blush. She complied but I swayed as soon as my feet touched the ground. Ichigo steadied me by pulled me into his side.

"Impressive, but now he's pretty much out for the count," he muttered.

"I'm not!" I said forcefully pushing away from him. I used a little too much force and went crashing to my knees.

Rangiku chuckled and would have helped me up if I hadn't glared at her.

"I swear some of the unseated members are convinced that Captain Hitsugaya is back from the dead. I'm gonna have fun explaining this to them." A strange, bald man walked up to us followed closely by Renji.

"So what's the plan, Ichigo?" he asked upon arrival.

Ichigo scratched the back of his neck, "we protect him." he pointed to me with this thumb.

"Oh, so that's the reincarnation. Why's it on the ground?"

I clenched my fists and forced myself to stand. "_It_ has a name, Madarame," I spat, "I'm not some inanimate object."

He snorted, "I'll say, that was some attack, kid."

"Also, not a kid."

"Oh, feisty."

"Yeah, I didn't know _Sennen Hyoro_ was meant to be a mass attack," Rangiku chirped.

_It wasn't,_ Toushrio growled.

I bit the inside of my cheek, "I'm making it up as I go."

"Impressive," Ikkaku said nodding.

"Wait, so out of everyone here no one thought of using a mass attack?" I asked, unbelievingly.

"Well," Rangiku said, playing with her bottom lip,

"Seriously? That's the first thing that comes to mind!"

"It wasn't as if there was a clear target. The _arrancar_ were all mixed up with our own men. Ichigo actually did a good job of clearing that up for us," she winked at him, "and after that you were the first one to act."

I huffed, feeling slightly deflated; what was it with these people?

"So, we have three captains and me," Ichigo stated while flexing his arms. "I think we can handle it."

"I'm not chopped liver," I interjected. I wasn't done yet.

"_You_ are worn out," he growled.

"I can still hold my own."

Ichigo sighed. "Your _zanpakuto_ reverted back to its sealed state; let us handle this one."

I glanced at Hyourinmaru in my hand sure enough he was back to his normal self.

"Reign-"

"DON'T!" Ichigo roared.

"Do they always argue this much?" Ikkaku whispered.

Both Renji and Rangiku shared a gaze.

"You'll get used to it." Renji answered shaking his head. "Anyway, get ready."

They took up various stances around me and locked their attention on the Aizen and his _espada_. I could make out Aizen's form even at our distance and I could tell that he was wearing that annoying, self-satisfied smirk. I growled and tightened my grip on Hyourinmaru. As if on cue Aizen began to move towards us. I heard Ikkaku, Renji and Rangiku each mutter the release to their _shikai_.

"Welcome to the battle, Hyōka-kun." Aizen's voice sent shivers down my spine and I heard Toushiro growl.

Then the _espada _attacked.

* * *

**So we're now in the thick of battle, I do love writing battle scenes. For this I blame Lord of the Rings, Eragon, and Game of Thrones.**

**Yep I'll admit that the shikai was sudden but as said before Hyoka knows how to do everything Toushiro could he just needs to remember how to. I do hope I'm not making him an over powered cliche... he's no where near the level Toushiro was and at the moment his attacks are significantly weaker.**

**And as expected Aizen found them and sent his arrancar after them in Hueco Mundo, big surprise right?**

**What'd you guys think?**

**-Mymomomo**


	41. Chapter 41

**Hello again every one, sorry for the long wait... You would think that as an art student I wouldn't have to work so hard... Ha and again HA. Let's just say these past few weeks have been rough. But only one more then I'm off for summer. Which potentially means more writing time **

**Anyway here's the second part of the battle, hope you enjoy.**

* * *

What happened next was all a blur; I mean literally, a white blur. Ikkaku, Renji, Rangiku and Ichigo surrounded me with their _zanpakuto_ raised. I hadn't actually seen what an _espada_ was like before but, if Toushiro's memory served me correctly, they were not meant to be taken lightly. I remembered a shark-like _espada_ from the winter war and my heart rate involuntarily sped up. If an _espada_ was that hard to deal with when I was at my peak strength then, right now I had no hope in either heaven or hell against one. I could not gauge these _espada_, though; they were all unfamiliar to both Toushiro and me and they were all pros at hiding their _reiatsu_. I hoped they were weaker than the last bunch, otherwise... I swallowed and gripped Hyourinmaru tighter. The only thing we had going for us now was that instead of ten there were six.

The _shinigami_ surrounding me were all set on hair triggers. They eyed the _espada_ unblinkingly like lions about to pounce on a bison. The _espada_, I realised, were very quick. I didn't even see them move before they were upon us. Only the clang of steel told me that the attack had started. The four around me drew in closer together and battered back the _espada's_ attacks. I had to duck and dodge a few elbows here and there, but I was actually surprised at how the _shinigami's_ movements were almost synchronised; they were all guarded but fierce. However, even if they were doing a damn good job holding up against the _espada_, I felt useless. There was something strangely frustrating about being surrounded by people trying to protect you and not being able to do anything yourself. All I could do was hold onto Hyourinmaru and watch as the others blocked attacks. I wouldn't dare try to strike in fear of hitting one of the _shinigami_; I mean they were so close together and Hyourinmaru wasn't exactly compact.

I sighed inwardly; this was more nerve wracking than being in an actual fight. I trusted the others, of course, but I couldn't help but thinking about what would happen if the _espada_ got through. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I literally jumped and let out a squeak of surprise when I felt someone grab me from behind. I saw a flash of brown, curly hair and began to panic until I noticed the pink, flowered kimono.

"Kyoraku? Where are you taking me?" I asked.

"Somewhere safe," he answered simply.

I grit my teeth. "When will you people realise that I don't want to be safe? I can help you fight!"

"I don't doubt that Hyōka-kun, but that stunt you pulled earlier has you practically drained. At the moment you're more of a hindrance than a help."

I chewed the inside of my cheek in defeat. "Aizen's gonna notice that I'm not there anymore..."

"Yes, but at least we'll have a head start-"

As soon as he uttered the words an _espada_ appeared right in front of us. Kyroraku wasted no time in pulling out his _zanpakuto_ and meeting the _espada's_ attack. He was now holding me on his left hip like a sack of potatoes. I blinked; he wasn't going to try to fight like this, was he?

"Hand over the child," the _espada_ ordered.

"Now why would I do that?" Kyoraku answered smoothly.

I raised my head and glared at the _espada_. It was a tall, heavily muscled man with sharp, black eyes and a hollow mask covering the bottom half of his face. I could sense the difference in power between him and the other _arrancar_ I had fought with before. The gap in power was so large it was almost laughable. Aizen really had concentrated all his power into the six _espada_. I felt my stomach start to churn uncomfortably.

_Kyoraku can handle this,_ Toushiro stated with confidence, _he's a captain and stronger than he was last time. Don't worry and don't show the espada you're afraid. _

I clenched my jaw and continued to stare at it, but it wasn't long before it attacked again. Kyoraku effortlessly blocked, but when the _espada_ figured out that it would have to try harder, I felt Kyoraku tense. Seconds later colours spun around me, and I couldn't tell which way was right or left or even up or down. Being held like this was not ideal, especially when someone was fighting. The clash of steel echoed in my ears and I could feel the brown-haired captain's breath quicken. He had handicapped himself by holding me, but he seemed to be holding his own against the _espada_. However, I didn't know how long he could keep this up for and his arm was painfully digging into my stomach.

A forceful blow sent Kyoraku stumbling back. I glanced up to see him now sporting a bright red gash on his shoulder.

"Kyoraku-" I started in shock, but he wasn't paying attention to me.

"Hmm seems like I'm going to have to get serious after all," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

The _espada_ seemed annoyed at his words. It roughly flicked its sword to the side. "I don't know why you thought you didn't need to be serious from the beginning. Don't you know who I am?"

"Aizen's lackey, I don't see how the specifics matter."

The _espada_ bristled silently.

"I'm sorry Hyōka-kun; I'm going to need both of my hands for this."

I nodded, but I didn't expect him to hold me by the back of my _kosode_ and toss me – when I said toss I meant throw with all his strength – behind him. I would have crashed in to several other _shinigami_ if they didn't have lightning reflexes. I hit the ground hard, tumbling head over heels a few times before I came to a stop on my stomach. I spat out a mouthful of blood; I had bit my tongue somewhere in the landing and possibly shattered the bones in my forearms and knees. I looked over my shoulder to glare at Kyoraku.

"Hyōka, run!" he shouted as he blocked the _espada_ from moving to follow me.

I quickly got to my feet and sprinted away weaving in between the various small battles between the _shinigami_ and _arrancar_. I ran fast and hard adding a _shunpo_ in wherever I could. I had no idea where I was heading, but anywhere far away from the _espada_ was fine. Hopefully the others could hold them off or, better yet, defeat them.

It was wishful thinking, I knew, as I began to feel as if I was going to collapse and the dark, heavy _reiatsu_ from one of the _espada_ came looming up behind me. I swore; there was no way I could fight one of them and survive, especially not in the state I was now.

_Unless..._ Toushiro started.

_Unless what? If you got a plan then share it._

_The hollow._

I spluttered and stumbled slightly.

_What?_ _Are you crazy? I have no idea how to do that!_

_It's worth a shot, I have tonnes of reserve power; you're running on empty, and there's an espada on our tail. If we don't try this then you're the one who's crazy._

I grit my teeth, _I don't know how to control him yet._

_Then you'll just have to learn on the job. Let's go! _

He had already begun to take on more hollow-like qualities. I really did have no other choice. I swallowed and embraced the hollow's building _reiatsu_.

I ran my left hand across my face, allowing the hollow _reiatsu_ to seep out. Instantly I felt my limbs go cold and a sharp hunger rose at the back of my mind. I felt a smooth mask grow over my face as well as the hollow instincts kick in. Even Hyourinmaru turned into the silver and midnight blue version that my inner hollow possessed. However, I had to remain in control; learning on the job, huh? I glared at the hollow in my inner world.

_You better not mess this up,_ I warned.

He grinned, _you don't have to worry about me I'd be more worried about yourself. Who's to say I'm going to let you have all the fun?_

I frowned. What did he mean by that? My question was answered when I felt the hollow instincts threaten to flood my senses. I had to struggle to push them back, but at the same time a new _espada_ – a heavy set female with glossy, maroon hair tied up in a bun and a dog collar made of bone around her neck – was seconds away from attacking me. I spun on my heels and swung Hyourinmaru at it before it could attack me. She was definitely shocked at my transformation, but recovered almost instantly.

I surprised myself by being able to match its speed. She had been so fast before; had the hollow really boosted my powers this much? I couldn't hold back a grin as I swiped at her side. Then we exchanged blows for a while, neither of us getting anywhere until I spun and ducked under her arm and managed to get a sizeable slash across its back.

My success was short lived, though, as I felt the hollow on the verge of taking over. I knew I couldn't hold out any longer so I pulled away from her. My mask disappeared into the air in black smoke as I forced the hollow back. I fell forward on to my knees gasping for breath.

_Hyōka!_

I forced myself to scramble away from the _espada_ who had turned around to try to attack me. I _shunpo'ed_ a few feet back.

_Again._

My hollow's s _reiatsu_ spiked again and I had no choice but to follow once more. I summoned the mask again and jumped back at the _espada_. She was now regarding me with a frown on her face but was still attacking just as voraciously. I channelled the hollow _reiatsu_ into my attacks; I had to admit they felt stronger, but fighting the _espada_ and fighting to keep my inner hollow from taking over was a task not easily completed. In no time at all I felt the hollow _reiatsu_ turn into an over whelming level. I once again jumped back from the _espada_, trying to get as much distance between us as possible and forced the mask from my face. As soon as it disappeared, though, I felt my body drain itself of energy. My limbs were trembling and I could barely hold up Hyourinmaru.

_Again._

I let out a deep breath and materialised my mask. This was the only way I could hope to fight the _espada_. From the last two attempts I realised that I could hold off the hollow for a grand total of two minutes at a time. It wasn't much, but at least I had more strength in those two minutes than I did on a regular, good day.

In the seconds that it took my mask to reappear, the _espada_ closed the distance between us and slashed at my shoulder. I jerked back but not enough; the wound was superficial and stung enough to make my hollow angry. I narrowed my eyes and _shunpo'ed_ behind her. She was somewhat slow on the uptake, but she still managed to block my attack.

_Enough of this cat and mouse game,_ my hollow snarled, _are you going to beat her or not?_

I snarled and put a little more force than necessary into my next attack. Our swords met with jarring clangs and I heard Hyourinmaru growl softly. I pushed back and ducked under her arm again, but this time I aimed a side kick at her thigh. Her knee buckled and, before she could react to her impaired balance, I jumped and swung at her chest. This time she tried to put some distance between us. My attack had missed but I was partially grateful that she had jumped away because the amount of hollow _reiatsu_ building up was teetering on dangerous for me.

I growled in frustration and _shupo'ed_ back once more before letting my mask dissipate. The instant the black smoke cleared I fell to a knee while gasping for breath. My lungs were on fire and my muscles were trembling. I wasn't sure how much of this I could take.

_Don't you dare give up now!_ My hollow shouted at me.

_Who said anything about giving up?_ I raised my head and ran a hand over my face. The mask reappeared and I ran at the _espada_.

"What are you?" she spat as she met my blade.

"Haven't you heard of a _visored_?" I snarled, my voice was a strange mixture of my own and the hollow's.

"You are no _visored_," she snarled and pushed me back.

I used the momentum to push into a _shunpo_ and jumped directly at her chest. The sole of my foot connected with her chin and as I dropped to the ground I swiped at her stomach. She blocked the attacked with almost no delay. The blow forced me to block with both hands and the muscles in my arms trembled.

"A _visored_ and their inner hollow have some sort of harmony; you still look like you're fighting to control yours." A trickle of blood dripped from her nose.

My snarl turned into a grunt as I had to switch from defending myself from the _espada_ to stopping my inner hollow from flooding my senses with his _reiatsu_. I _shupo'ed_ away from the _espada_.

"No you don't,"

She followed me and grabbed the front of my _kosode_. I swore as I felt myself losing control.

_You really are pathetic,_ my hollow snarled. He began pulling back on his own accord. I blinked in surprise as my mask began to crumble. He wasn't still trying to kill me? Of course not, I chided myself; I had beaten him after all.

But now I had bigger things to worry about; I was in the _espada's_ grasp and she was swinging her sword at me. Furthermore, without my mask I had had next to no energy left. I struggled to raise my _zanpakuto_ and with my free hand I re-summoned my mask. It materialised in the nick of time. I kicked her in the stomach, but not before her sword met my shoulder. The bitch attacked in the exact same spot as before. The wound was no longer superficial; I could tell from the way it hurt to move my left arm that my collar bone had been fractured. I _shunpo'ed_ out of her grasp and landed a few feet away from her. We stood staring at each other for a short while before I jumped at her. She met me halfway but I feinted to the right. She blocked her side as I switched directions at the last minute, but I still managed to carve a deep, long gash into her hip. I continued running to put distance between us so I could let go and re-apply my mask.

_No, you can hold on a little bit longer,_ the hollow instructed.

I could feel my human senses starting to go numb and the hollow ones strengthening. _In your dreams_, I sneered as I let the mask dissipate. I stumbled before I re-summoned the mask and the _espada_ was on me in that moment. I blocked her attack, but its force jarred my injured shoulder and I couldn't help but grunt in pain.

The hollow cursed me,_ I told you to hold on a little longer. I have no interest in having your body now; they're bigger and better things to do and if you lose to her there will be hell to pay; Aizen won't be the only thing to worry about. _

I snarled – at who I wasn't too sure – and pushed the _espada_ back.

_Then how are we supposed to get out of this?_

He looked at me like I was mentally challenged. _ Stop holding back, obviously. You keep on jumping in and out like this, this battle will get nowhere and you'll only exhaust yourself even more. _

Right. I took a deep breath; it went against all my instincts to trust the hollow not to take over. So far he had proven to be a man of his word, but that fact was little comfort. I felt his _reiatsu_ push against mine and I hesitantly backed down and let it flow freely.

The _espada_ blinked and her scowl deepened as she regarded me. I pushed her back; our blades slipped against each other with the screech of metal and a few sparks. I guess she hadn't been expecting that and allowed herself to be driven back a few paces.

_End this, Hyōka. _The hollow instructed.

I let my _reiatsu_ pour out, noticing that it held a darker tinge. The sky darkened as black thunder clouds blanketed the sky. A few stray snowflakes fell and the temperature plummeted. The _espada's_ breath was now coming out in white puffs and she stared at me; her eyes widening a fraction. I snorted inwardly; the hollow's strength was ridiculous, but could I actually defeat the _espada_?

Hyourinmaru roared. _Don't doubt yourself, hatchling, you have both me and Toushiro behind you. _

I nodded and held up my _zanpakuto_. The metal reflected the scant light and a sudden wind blew causing my clothes to ripple against my body.

"Reign over the frosted heavens, Hyourinmaru!" I shouted and released my _shikai_ for the second time.

The _espada_ snarled and leapt at me. I blocked her and _shunpo'ed_ away.

"Stop running!" she roared, "stand and fight me."

"That's what I'm doing," I spat from behind her. "_Hyoryu_ _senbi_,"

I sent a wave of ice at her back. I had not been expecting the kickback from the attack and stumbled back a few paces. I growled; I should have been prepared for that. I heard the hollow laughing at the back of my mind. I snarled and turned my attention back to the battle. The attack was almost the same as I remembered; ice had overflowed from the tip of my blade, but instead of being white and light blue it was stained with black as if it had been frozen from dirty water or tar, actually. I guess that was the effect of the hollow showing through. The crescent shaped ice form had caught the _espada_ off guard as well; she was now sporting an additional wound on her back.

She turned and glared at me. "Lord Aizen didn't tell me about this," she hissed, her eyes narrowing.

"Well the thing about Aizen is that he's a bit of an asshole." I held my sword up again, "_Hyoten_ _Hyakkaso_,"

I heard the hollow snort; this was kind of a replay of the last battle I had with an _espada_. It had ended with this attack as well. _Well that's original, _he smirked.

The clouds overhead thickened and snow began to fall faster. Then suddenly a patch of light shone through the overcast sky, right above the _espada_. Snow began falling in concentrated amounts around the _espada_. She looked around shocked as flowers of black ice erupted wherever the snow made contact.

"What the hell?" she shouted as she slashed at the flowers. "What is this?"

I watched as more and more flowers blossomed, covering the _espada's_ body. _Flowers, Toushiro, really? Isn't that a bit flashy and... feminine? _

The hollow glared at me. _It echoes your name, Hyō-ka._

I grit my teeth. So what, my name was a little girly; it could be translated as 'ice flower' but I preferred not to think of that often.

_It means valued,_ I snarled back.

I turned my attention back to the _espada_. She was still struggling but the more she moved the more snowflakes gathered on her and bloomed into flowers. In almost no time at all a tower of black flowers stood before me. I began to feel a bit weak towards the end of the attack. My vision blurred slightly and I heard a few soft cracks as my mask began to crumble away at the edges. I forced myself to hold on until the last flower had blossomed. Afterwards I sank to my knees as my mask shattered and disappeared with a puff of black smoke.

_I guess you're not a complete waste of space then. _The hollow grinned as he receded to the back of my mind and Toushiro took his place.

The minute my mask disappeared every ounce of energy left my body. I felt like had just run a marathon through hot coals and hail. My limbs were trembling; they hurt to move and pain from the wound on my shoulder intensified ten-fold. I was heaving like an over-run racehorse, but getting dizzier by the second. I felt like I was going to throw up, my mouth was dry and my stomach twisted in knots. All I could hear was the pounding of blood in my ears and my heart was beating so fast I wouldn't have been surprised if I could have seen it thudding against my chest. Hyourinmaru had converted back into his normal, sealed state.

However, the euphoria from actually beating the _espada_ was giving me the shot of adrenaline that I need-

There was a deafening crack from behind me. I looked over my shoulder in horror as the tower of flowers began to shake and a few petals were knocked out of place.

"You've got to be kidding me!" I shouted_. I didn't kill it?_

Toushiro swore breathlessly. He was in a similar position to me; bent over and huffing.

The _espada_ was chipping its way out of my ice at an alarming rate, and I did not have the energy to stop it. I felt as if someone had pulled the plug out of my stomach and everything was being drained away. I clenched my hands and closed my eyes, even after all of that I hadn't been strong enough. Aizen was going to have his way after all. My chest constricted; what was the point of this all? Why did we even bother to fight if our enemy was so damned strong?

"Getsuga Tensho!"

A blast of black, raw energy blew past me. There was a loud shattering sound from behind me then a muffled scream followed by the sound of chunks of ice hitting the ground and smashing to pieces. My breath caught in my throat and I looked up with wide eyes to see Ichigo standing in front of me. I'm guessing he had unleashed his _bankai_ because Zangetsu was now a thin, black blade and his _kosode_ now resembled a long, fitted, black coat. However, the most shocking difference was the hollow mask covering his face. It looked like a human skull with a jaw that took up almost the entire bottom half of his face and was all white with two thick red strips running down either side. He looked down at me and allowed his mask to disappear as he ran to my side.

"What the hell, Kurosaki? Who asked you to do that; this was my battle you don't need to save me every single time."

He rolled his eyes, "You're welcome."

"I didn't ask for your help."

"How do you have the energy to be a complete brat right now? Anyway we need to get you away from here. The others are holding off Aizen, but I'm not sure how long that's gonna last."

"You defeated the _espada_?" I asked, feeling my eyes widen.

He grinned, "They may have gotten stronger, but so did we."

He helped me to stand up but once he realised that I could barely walk on my own he picked me up. I growled in annoyance; these people seemed to think I was some sort of doll. I huffed in annoyance; I couldn't wait until I was too big for them to pick me up.

_That'll be the day,_ Hyourinmaru snorted in amusement. _You've been the same height for what... a couple centuries now? Actually, you're even shorter than Toushiro at the moment. _

I rolled my eyes, _Well this time I'm alive so I can grow at a normal rate. _

_You're thirteen and four foot nothing, that's not exactly normal. _

_... Shut up. _

Both he and Toushiro chuckled softly. But then the somewhat light mood was broken by a sudden burst of dark _reiatsu_. I swallowed and I felt Ichigo tense. Hyourinmaru growled softly and Toushiro swore. Aizen appeared in front of us languidly holding his _zanpakuto_ and smirking for all that he was worth.

"And just where do you think you're going, Ichigo?" he drawled.

Ichigo wordlessly put me down and pushed me behind him while he brandished Zangetsu with one arm.

"Save the theatrics and just hand the boy over. I really don't know why the _Gotei_ Thirteen was willing to sacrifice so much for just one child."

I clenched my jaw and poked my head out from behind Ichigo to snarl at him. The red-head pushed me back with a soft grunt of warning.

"Because no one should have to go through with what you want to do with him. It doesn't matter if it's for just one child or a whole civilisation; we will fight you," Ichigo spat.

Aizen chuckled, "and therein lies your downfall; you don't know when to quit."

I felt my stomach sink to my knees as Aizen unleashed a bit more of his _reiatsu_. Ichigo was a strong fighter, but Aizen... I had a disgusting feeling that I had yet to see a fraction of his true strength.

* * *

**So, my Beta brought up the point of the difference between Hitsugaya's Shikai and Bankai attacks and well quite frankly I thought that he could use all his Bankai attacks in Shikai but with a difference of power, if that's not the case then please tell me... I've done some research but I'm still a bit unsure of what's going on... But for the sake of the story let's just go with this for now (Oh the pitfalls of writing fanfiction...)**

**Anyway, now that's Aizen's finally shown up (again) the battle should get more heated, as if it wasn't already, but he is going to be a pain to beat. Don't worry I have a plan... of some sort, let's just hope the characters will cooperate :)**

**And thanks to all my reviewers and followers especially all those who have stuck it out through the beginning (there was one sort of flamer, but it made me laugh so it was all good in the end)  
**

**And now that you stick it out until this point why not leave a review? **

**-Mymomomo**


	42. Chapter 42

**This is my way of apologising for that god awful cliffhanger last time, but seeing as the only way I can remedy this is by posting a new chapter I think I've redeemed myself in your eyes.**

**Thanks for the reviews the last time around maybe we'll make 500 by the final chapter **

**Anyway, get reading **

* * *

I gulped and looked up at Ichigo as Aizen stared us down. _This _was the decisive battle; the moment that this entire war had built up to. Admittedly, it wasn't that extravagant; we were standing on a blood-soaked battle field, for crying out loud. If my stomach wasn't threatening to leap out of my mouth or my chest didn't feel like I was wearing a straight jacket, this could have been another sparring match. I sighed, of course those were all logistics; I would feel this way at the start of any battle regardless of how big it was. The sun beat down on us the same way, the air was still, and there was not a single indication that I was about to fight for my life as well as the future of the Soul Society. I grit my teeth and gave Aizen a once over, but instead of feeling more confident I began to feel more nervous than I had ever been in my life. I was ashamed that even after all this time, after all this training, I was just as scared of Aizen as I was when I had first met him that night in my bedroom.

I glanced back up at Ichigo, hoping for some form of comfort. The red head was tense – overly so – and glaring at Aizen like his life depended on it. Well in a sense it did, but I don't think I had ever seen Ichigo look that mad before, and I was secretly thankful that his anger wasn't directed towards me. He clutched Zangetsu so tightly that his knuckles began to turn white and I could practically see the veins in his hands start to pop out. Also, it might have been my imagination, but I could have sworn that he was shaking – out of rage no doubt – but it was still strange to see him like this.

"Ichigo..." I clutched the back of his _kosode_ in a turnaround effort to comfort him.

"Stay behind me, Hyōka," he ordered through a clenched jaw.

I snorted; like that was gonna happen. I released his uniform and adjusted my grip on Hyourinmaru. "Aizen's a maniac; there's no way I'm going to let you do this alone."

"Hyōka..."

"Look, Kurosaki, this is just as much my fight as it is yours. I don't care that you think I'm too young for this but, really, if you think I'm going to stand aside and let you get yourself killed then you better pull your head out of your ass."

He let out a heavy sigh, "He's not to be taken lightly, Hyōka,"

"All the more reason why you should let me help."

"You're injured."

"So are you."

"This isn't a game."

I scowled at him even though I knew he couldn't see me. "I asked you to promise me that you wouldn't die and you didn't answer me. So call it security, or whatever, I'm going to make you keep that promise."

He glanced at me from over his shoulder for a split second before turning back to Aizen. "Don't let him release his _zanpakuto_; once he does that it's all over for us."

Toushiro nodded agreement. '_Usually, you'd have to have seen his shikai before it could have any effect on you, but since I've already seen it there might be a chance that you would be affected by it as well. We'd better be safe than sorry.'_

I nodded and Ichigo finally allowed me to move from behind him.

"Finished your lovers' spat?" Aizen mocked, "Now, what's the plan?"

"To kill you, bastard," I growled.

Aizen grinned softly, almost as if he was wishing us good luck. "I'd like to see you try, Hyōka-kun."

I snarled.

'_Toushiro, you ready?'_

'_Let's go.'_

I took a deep breath before attempting to release my _shikai_ yet again. I wasn't going to lie; I was tired, exhausted even, but I was not going to let myself rest until I got rid of the man in front of me. I could rest all I wanted later; now, there were things to do. And ending Aizen's life was at the top of my list.

I was about to leap at Aizen but Ichigo beat me to it. He let out a fearsome yell and suddenly he and Aizen were sparring head on. I watched them for a split second before diving in myself. I mentally noted Ichigo's fighting pattern; as unpredictable as he was there was a tinge of method to his madness. Ichigo's style was more or less brute force; he had used that tactic with me a couple times, easily overwhelming me with his strength without even resorting to other means of swordplay. I could practically feel the air bristle with his unleashed _reiatsu_, but I could tell by the erratic, yet measured, rhythm of his blows that he wasn't just attacking mindlessly.

Toushiro hummed in amusement and told me to wait for a break in his attacks so I wouldn't throw off his momentum. I stood my ground, watching, as the battle between the two seemed to be going nowhere fast. Aizen didn't even look like he was breaking a sweat when blocking each and every one of Ichigo's attacks. I grit my teeth; just how powerful was this bastard?

'_Now,'_ Toushiro yelled and I sprang into action.

I _shunpo'ed_ behind Aizen and slashed at his waist, pivoting with my right foot, and jumping away before he had time to attack me. He must have had a sixth sense because he blocked my attack and went right back to fighting Ichigo.

"Two on one? That isn't fair," he drawled.

"Who said anything about fair?" I snapped and jumped at him again when I noticed that Ichigo had backed off ever so slightly. Ichigo and I took turns trading blows with Aizen but we still were not getting anywhere; the bastard still had a smug look on his face.

Ichigo huffed then sent me a brief glance. I surprised myself when I knew exactly what he was thinking. We stood back to back – well more like butt to back because he was so damn tall – and at the same time pulled on our hollow masks. I felt Ichigo's _reiatsu_ explode and before I had a chance to adjust to the hollow senses he had already jumped at Aizen.

"You moron," I muttered and moved to follow him.

Ichigo's attacks were so quick that they flowed like liquid into one another. But then again, what had I expected? The hollow was meant to boost his powers.

Aizen seemed like he was having trouble now. His smirk seemed forced and he was moving around a lot more. We might just be able to turn this thing around. I jumped into the fray and swung at Aizen's thigh while Ichigo paired my attack with a jab at his chest. Aizen leapt backwards looking at me with a hint of shock on his strained face but Ichigo followed him, giving him no time for rest, and attacked again. I had no choice but to follow him again. We teamed up for another double attack this time I aimed for his stomach while Ichigo took his head.

Aizen _shunpo'ed_ away from us, but now I noticed a definite frown on his face and it was directed towards me. He blocked Ichigo's next attack like he was swatting a fly, but I was sure that I felt the ground shake from the force. Ichigo had to divert his attack course and landed hard on the ground behind Aizen, sending up a cloud of rust coloured dust.

"Hyōka-kun, you've developed much quicker than I anticipated," Aizen said, halting our battle for just a moment.

I scowled; he sounded like a paedophile with that line. I saw Ichigo straighten and glare at Aizen but didn't move otherwise. He was probably trying to judge Aizen's next move – people generally didn't stop to talk in the middle of a battle.

Aizen glanced over his shoulder at Ichigo. "Here how about we strike a deal? Hand over the child before you tire yourself out and I won't kill you."

"That's a shitty bargain," I shouted while I adjusted my grip on Hyourinmaru and jumped at Aizen again.

"Well it's the best chance you're going to get. Otherwise, I'll just have to take you by force." Aizen sneered, turning back to me.

He narrowed his eyes and the next thing I knew I was flying backwards. I landed hard on my back a few feet away from him. All of the air was knocked out of my lungs and my ears were ringing. I gasped for breath and tried to pull myself to my feet before I noticed a bright, red gash running across the width of my lower abdomen. Blood was rapidly soaking into my _kosode _at a rate Ihad never seen before; I could feel the fabric stick to my skin and heard a few drops splatter on the ground beneath me. This was not good; I could tell the wound was very deep so he had probably hit a few arteries. The pain came then, white hot and radiating from my abdomen all the way to the tips of my toes. I dropped back to the ground and wrapped an arm around my stomach, feeling like I was going to be sick. I felt my mask crumble and evaporate in black smoke. All I could do now was lean over and try to prevent myself from hyperventilating.

'_Hyōka!'_ Toushiro shouted in worry, but I could tell that he was worn out and in just as much pain as me.

'_I'm fine, just-_'

'_No, you're not fine! I'm pretty sure that your stomach is supposed to be inside of you. You need to get out before Aizen kills you.' _

'_No he's not going to kill me; he wants to capture me, remember?'_

'_Hyōka-'_

'_I'm done with running away, Toushiro. And if this will be my last stance against Aizen then so be it. If I'm going down I'm going down fighting.' _

He nodded,_ 'I don't think we can hollowfy any more, though.'_

Sure enough Azien was standing over me when I finished my chat with Toushiro. I looked up at him with a deep scowl trying to ignore the pain I was in and anxiously waiting for the endorphins to kick in.

"I'm surprised you're still conscious after that," he stated smoothly, "I made sure to cut through several of your organs."

I continued to scowl at him.

"This brings back memories, doesn't it, Hyōka-kun? Only, the last time I killed you." His mouth twisted into a sickening smile.

I heard Toushiro growl and I sneered to match him. "That's not going to happen again." Blood pooled in my mouth and I spat it at his feet.

"No, because I need you alive. There's a lot I can learn from you since you so rudely ran away after our last meeting."

"Bastard!" I yelled and attempted to jump at him. I didn't get far because my legs were wobbly and I could barely support myself. I fell back to the ground clutching my stomach and groaning in pain.

Aizen chuckled, "Don't strain yourself, Hyōka-kun, after all-" his ears pricked up and he spun around to meet an attack from Ichigo.

I could feel his _reiatsu_ rolling off of him in dark waves. I swallowed; Ichigo was beyond pissed. I should have felt flattered that he was reacting like this for my sake but I was more anxious and worried than anything. His and Aizen's _zanpakuto_ came together with a mighty clash and a few sparks flew from the metal. Ichigo was attacking with newfound severity; his attacks were more controlled and forceful. I could hear the air sing each time he swung his blade, but then again that might have been due to the blood rushing in my ears. Aizen was quickly losing ground and with each attack Ichigo was stepping up his pace. I blinked in amazement as he managed to knick Aizen's hip, shoulder, and cheek in a rapid barrage of attacks. Aizen sneered at him but could not do anything else as Ichigo rained attack after attack upon him.

"I will not let you hurt Hyōka again!" he shouted and swung at Aizen's neck.

"You're a little too late then," Aizen replied dodging and instantly his smirk was back in place.

Ichigo glanced behind the madman at me and let out a fearsome yell. I couldn't see his expression behind the mask, but I knew that the instant he looked at me his emotions got the upper hand. The attack had happened so fast that _I _didn't even have time to register it; much less Ichigo. I felt dread seep into my stomach. Ichigo hadn't been fighting with a clear head before; I doubted that he even knew what a clear head was. However, now he was about to let his anger roll unchecked. I had seen him do this before – well Toushiro had – he was about to make mistakes and throw his _zanpakuto_ around like a novice fighter. His controlled attacks took on a more inconsistent edge and Aizen began to take back the battle. I felt all the blood drain from my face. The wound on my stomach was secondary to the horror I felt for Ichigo. I mentally willed him to keep calm, but I knew that he was too much over the top to even consider going back. My fingertips had gone cold and I felt something thick, hard, and bitter rise in my chest.

"No," I muttered as Ichigo stumbled backwards after barely blocking Aizen.

"And I wouldn't try a _Getsuga_ _Tensho_ so close to the boy; he can't even move after all."

Ichigo raised his arms to attack and I saw Aizen's next move before he made it.

"Ichigo, no!" I shouted.

Time slowed to a standstill as Aizen shoved his blade straight into Ichigo's exposed chest, pushing it in until the hilt met muscle. Ichigo's mask shattered as he stopped moving and he looked down as his chest like he didn't understand what was going on. Aizen had hit his heart, I couldn't tell precisely from this angle, but judging by Ichigo's reaction I knew it was something serious and Ichigo had minutes left to live. I was screaming my head off, I could feel my throat seizing, but all I could hear was the sound of the blood pounding in my head getting heavier and slower by the second. Every ounce of colour drained from Ichigo's face and the animated fire in his chocolate eyes slowly burnt itself out. He convulsed once and a trickle of deep red blood escaped from the corner of his lips and ran down his chin and neck. Zangetsu fell from Ichigo's grasp with a deafening clang that I felt in my stomach and he slumped forward slightly. Aizen shoved him backwards, ripping his blade from his chest. Ichigo fell to the ground in an unmoving heap and instantly a pool of blood formed around him. Aizen flicked his _zanpakuto_ to the side; Ichigo's blood slid from the metal and splattered on the ground.

Someone was screaming loudly, hopelessly screaming Ichigo's name and shouting threats at Aizen, vowing that they would kill him. It took me a while to realise that the person yelling was me. My vision began to blur but I barely noticed the hot tears streaming down my face.

Aizen turned to me, "I told you my deal was your best chance. If you had come quietly you could have prevented all of this. How many have died because you were too stubborn?"

I roughly wiped at my face, "It's not my fault; you're the one that fucking killed them!"

"Such language is not suited for a little boy. Now, shall we get going?"

Anger bubbled in my stomach and spread outwards to my chest, face, and even my arms. "I will _never_ go with you!"

He sighed harshly and bent down to look at me. "Who else do I have to kill, hmm? Your brother? How about your sister? I thought that Ichigo would have been enough to make you realise that you are under my control. But it seems..." he paused and straightened, "We've got company."

Several _shinigami _captains appeared surrounding us. They all looked worse for wear but they held up their zanpakuto and pointed them at Aizen.

"When will you people learn?" Aizen muttered.

"Oh, we've learnt alright," I blinked as Shinji appeared out of nowhere and began walking towards Aizen. Aizen turned to face him with a look of disdain. The rest of the _visored_ were slowly following Shinji; they all wore grim expressions and were covered in blood splatters. "We've learnt how much of an asshole you can be. But then, you should have also learnt that you won't get away with harming one of our friends. We will make you pay for this."

Aizen began to laugh. It was a sick, twisted laugh, which caused my stomach to curdle yet made my blood boil. "And how do you suppose to do that? Don't you remember what happened the last time? Your strongest man is lying on the ground dying, and very quickly I might add."

Shinji sneered and the rest of the _visored_ and the _shinigami_ prepared to attack.

"Shatter-"

No! I had no idea where I got the sudden burst of energy from. I shouldn't have been able to walk, yet alone move. The only thing connecting my upper and lower body together was the skin on my lower back, a few lone muscles, and my spine. But somehow I got to my feet. I clutched Hyourinmaru in both hands and grit my teeth against the pain. The only thing that I was focusing on was Aizen; everything else faded into the background including Ichigo's colourless body lying a few feet away. If Aizen released his _shikai_ we were all done for. Ichigo... and everyone else would have died for nothing and I would not let that happen.

I ran at Aizen, swinging Hyourinmaru as I neared him. Aizen had not been expecting me to attack – or even move for that matter – and simply turned his head to stare as my blade made contact with his sword arm. I hit him somewhere below his elbow; it was a clean cut and I put my remaining strength into it. I felt the slightest resistance as my blade hit bone but then there was a slight snapping noise and Aizen's arm and _zanpakuto_ went flying.

The battlefield went silent as I stumbled forward and fell face first into the dirt. I knew I was going to lose consciousness any second now. My vision was fading and colours turned into tones of grey. My limbs had gone numb; I couldn't even feel the ground under me. In my inner world, however, I felt Toushiro lie down next to me and Hyourinmaru curled around us while rumbling softly. My eyelids were suddenly impossibly heavy and it was a chore to breathe. Then as the last of my consciousness left me what I swore was an orange blur leapt behind Aizen and-

...

"I'm home," I shouted as I slammed the front door shut and dropped my bag at my feet. It landed with a loud thud and I pulled off my shoes.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to drop you bag by the door and bring it to your room? And did you thank Sagawa-san for bringing you home?"

I frowned slightly. "Yes."

"Hyōka," Mommy said coming from the living room to see me in the hallway and put her hands on her hips.

"I'll tell her thank you tomorrow."

She shook her head, "That's not how it works, Koko-chan. We'll go over later and I want you to thank her for being nice, okay?"

"Okay."

She patted my head, "You need to remember your manners otherwise people won't think you're a good boy." She turned around and I moved to follow her.

"Pick up your bag Koko-chan," she said without looking back.

I frowned, grabbed the bag by the straps, and marched past the living room dragging it behind me. But I saw two people sitting on the couch and immediately dropped my bag and ran over to them.

"Hyōka-" my mother started in warning but stopped herself with a sigh and a shake of her head.

"Teito's here!" I shouted in excitement, "You said you were coming next week!"

"I lied," Teito said grinning. He leaned down and scooped me up then placed me on his lap and ruffled my hair. "How's preschool treating you?"

I frowned and grabbed his hand.

"I don't like it."

Teito chuckled a bit. "Why not?

Another pair of hands grabbed me from behind and I found myself stretched over a shoulder.

"Isamu, be careful!" Mommy exclaimed.

But I was laughing and Dad was poking my ribs. He put me down when I started to hiccup.

"Hey, why don't you get your ball and we can play catch at the park?"

"Really!" I was so excited I had to jump up and down. "Teito too? And Mikami?"

"If they want to. Go get your ball and ask Mikami if she wants to come."

I nodded and ran to get my ball.

"Hyōka your bag!" Mommy shouted after me, but I didn't want to go all the way back to get it.

I found my ball under my bed and found Hyourinmaru on top of it. Mommy didn't let me take him to school but I knew that I could bring him to the park with us. I picked him up and my ball then went to ask Mikami if she wanted to play with us.

Mikami never wanted to play with me, though. When she had come back from her big person school she had played with me for a while but now she kept on tell me things like stop being annoying. She also slept too much and took too many naps, but when I called her boring she smiled and said she was not boring, just a grown up. But Daddy and Teito were grownups as well and they weren't boring; Mommy was though, so it was probably just girls who were boring.

Still, I knocked on her door. Teito was home and she was always nicer when Teito was here. She opened her door and I asked her to come to the park with us. She smiled at me and said yes but she needed to get dressed first. She was still in her pyjamas.

I ran back to the living room.

"I'm ready! And Mikami said she's coming – hey!"

Teito grabbed the ball from my hand and tossed it up in the air a few times.

"Mom's packing some snacks and then we can go, okay."

"Mommy's coming?"

"Yeah."

"So everyone's coming to the park?"

"Mmhm."

I smiled and squeezed Hyourinmaru tightly.

Mommy still made me say thank you to Sagawa-san before we left but I was too excited to care. The walk to the park was short but Mikami held my hand even though I told her I was big enough to walk by myself. When we got there she and Mommy sat on a bench while Teito and Daddy played catch with me. I gave Hyourinmaru to Mikami so he wouldn't get dirty.

"You know the doctors said that he might have vision problems because of his albinism, but I think the boy has better hand-eye coordination than I do," Daddy laughed and threw the ball to Teito.

"What's albinism?" I asked as Teito threw the ball to me.

Teito looked at Dad then over to Mikami and Mommy on the bench.

"It's when people don't have a special... ingredient in their skin," Mikami answered, "so they look really pale and have white hair and-"

"Like me?"

"Uh..." she looked at Mommy.

"Yes, Koko-chan, like you," Mommy said with a smile, "But you do know that's not a bad thing, right?"

I shrugged and threw the ball to Daddy. "It makes me different, but I don't feel different so it's not bad."

The four of them let out deep breaths. I frowned and looked around at them.

"I think we should head home now," Daddy said.

"No, not yet."

"But it's going to be dinner time soon."

I shook my head, "I want to play more."

"You can play with us when you get back,"

"No, I want to play here."

"Come on Koko-chan, don't be like that," Daddy sighed, "we have to go back sooner or later."

I stamped my foot, "No, I want us to stay here for forever."

"We can't stay here forever."

"I want you to."

He smiled and stooped down to pat my head. "You know we can't do that."

I started to sniffle.

"Koko-chan," Mommy was on my other side. She smiled and patted my cheek. "Remember what I told you?"

I looked at my feet and tried to stop myself from crying. "B-be strong."

She put a finger under my chin and made me look up. Both she and Daddy were kneeling down in front of me and Teito and Mikami stood behind them. The sun was setting so I couldn't see them very well; the light was in my eyes.

"Yes, be strong and I love you," she placed her other hand on Daddy's shoulder, "we love you."

They both stood up and moved past Mikami and Teito.

"Let's get going."

"No!" I shouted, "Don't go! Don't leave me!"

"What are you talking about, Koko-chan? We're not going to leave you," Mommy said, "We'll always be with you, right here." she put a hand on her heart.

"No, don't go!"

"Are you going to be a good boy for Teito and Mikami?" Daddy asked with a chuckle.

"Don't go!"

"Be strong, Hyōka."

"No!"

"We love you."

"Don't go! Don't-"

...

I woke up gasping for air. My vision was blurry, probably from the tears that were still leaking from my eyes, and everything hurt.

"Hyōka?"

I recognised Mikami's tentative voice and placed a hand over my face to wipe at the tears.

"Hyōka, what's wrong? Where does it hurt?"

I heard her moving around but it was as if she was far away or I was inside a box; everything sounded muffled.

I knew I should have given her some confirmation that I was alright, but I couldn't stop myself from crying.

"Hyōka?"

This time Teito's voice made its way back to me and I felt someone place something cool and soft on my forehead.

"It's okay, Koko-chan, everything's over now. It's fine; you're safe."

I tried to stop the tears; they were worried. So, I withdrew my hand from my face and took a deep breath to calm myself. That was a bad idea, as it turned out; pain flared up from my abdomen. I was paralysed for a minute as all my senses were blanked out.

"Shit," I muttered when, ever so slowly, my senses returned. However, everything was hazy except the throbbing in my abdomen; that was as clear as day.

Teito chuckled so softly I almost didn't hear him. "Well, what do you expect after nearly getting cut in half?"

I would have glared at him but the haze was beginning to take over and I was starting to feel tired.

"Where am I? What happened?" I mumbled. My words came out slurred and my voice sounded detached, like I wasn't the one talking.

"We're in the _Seireitei_," Mikami answered, "Captain Unohana healed you, but you need to take it easy for a while."

I felt my eyes begin to droop.

"Poor kid, look how loopy he is; that must be some strong medication he's on." Teito mumbled.

I wanted to roll my eyes and say I wasn't _that_ out of it, but I was just too tired. I still needed to know a couple of things, though.

"What happened to Aizen?"

"He's dead, Koko-chan; we won."

I nodded and even that small movement was exhausting.

"And Ichigo?"

My eyes closed and I felt myself start to drift off. The idea of sleep felt wonderful at the moment, so I gave in and let myself get carried away into the dark, peaceful abyss.

"Ichigo's..."

The rest of Mikami's sentence didn't make it to my ears.

* * *

**OMFG**

**Did I just kill Icigho? Writers have to be ruthless sometimes :/**

**So, I'm just keeping with Kubo's theme of dismemberment and making him lose an arm was the only sensible way to win the battle without having some crazy, ****unbelievable power-up. **

**Also, for the last part I threw it in because I suck as writing children and I made Summer resolution to fix the things I suck at. So, you got a baby Hyoka scene. **

**Now, about that 500 review mark... *looks around hopefully***

**- Mymomomo**


	43. Chapter 43

**That wait wasn't too bad right?**

**Ichigo's fate was only dangling for what two-ish weeks?**

**And OMG you guys are effing amazing. I meant get to 500 reviews by the time the story is done. I didn't expect all of that from one chapter! ^^ **

**Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

* * *

I kept on floating in and out of consciousness. One minute I was lying in a hospital bed, the next I was in the middle of some weird dream. I met my parents a couple of times, but each time they quickly sent me back to consciousness with a 'remember what I told you'. I didn't want to be conscious; it hurt to be conscious. My stomach felt like it wanted to kill me. It hurt to breathe, to move, to anything. The lighting was too bright, the sheets scratchy, and my bed felt like a lumpy sponge. The bouts of unconsciousness were a respite even if I was swarmed by bad dreams. But after what felt like the millionth time waking up I felt better – well not fully better, just enough to know that I would not fall back asleep in a matter of two minutes.

_It's about time, princess, _Toushiro muttered as I made an attempt to push myself into a sitting position.

_Shut up, you were unconscious too- _I cut myself off when what felt like a knife was shoved into my abdomen. I let out a strangled scream and doubled over clutching my stomach.

_Idiot,_ Toushiro sneered shaking his head, but there was no malice in his tone, if anything, he sounded amused.

I glared at him for a while before I noticed the amount of _shinigami_ healers rushing around me. I guess I wasn't supposed to sit up or, judging by the shocked looks on their faces, be awake yet. In a matter of seconds, one was pushing me back into a laying position, another one dabbing at my forehead with a damp cloth, and yet another one was checking the machines surrounding my bed and adjusting the bag of IV fluid that hung above my head. I huffed but let them do their jobs; if they were anything like Mikami they wouldn't appreciate being disturbed by my questioning. Though, quite honestly, I didn't really have the energy to do more than watch as they scrambled around my bedside.

They didn't take much longer before they satisfied themselves and moved off to some other job. Unohana took their place then. She walked up to me with a warm smile and a clipboard in her left hand.

"Good morning, Hyōka-kun," she said softly.

"Morning," I mumbled back.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Where are Mikami and Teito... and Ichigo?"

She ignored my question. "Fine? You're not in any pain at all?"

I sighed, guessing that she would not answer any of my questions until I answered hers first. "My stomach hurts and I'm tired."

"What about your legs; can you move them?"

I raised an eyebrow and wiggled my toes under the sheets to satisfy her.

She smiled again and made a note on her clipboard. "Good; since the injury was so deep, we were worried that your legs might have been paralysed. I'm going to warn you though, it will be difficult for you to stand or sit up straight for a while."

I nodded and tried again. "Where are Ichigo and my brother and sister?"

"I sent them to get some rest last night; Mikami and Teito should be coming to see you soon. Now, Hyōka, do you remember the battle at all?"

"What about Ichigo?"

"Let's concentrate on you for now. The fight; what do you remember of it?"

"I remember everything, well, right up to the part I cut off Aizen's arm." Her answer made me feel unseasy.

"Yes, the Soul Society is in your debt. It's because of you we were able to defeat Aizen once and for all."

I smiled slightly. Good, so the bastard was dead. I had assumed so since I was alive and all, in the Seireitei no less, that Aizen had been defeated, but it was still comforting to actually hear it.

_I thought you would be more elated,_ Toushiro pointed out.

I shrugged._ I'm tired, and what about you? You should be jumping off the walls. With all those revenge speeches you were giving..._

He shrugged. _I'm tired too._

Hyourinmaru chuckled. _My two nestlings are all worn out. You both did well; you deserve a rest._

_I'm not your nestling._ Toushrio rolled his eyes.

Hyourinmaru chuckled again then curled up as he lay down in the snow. _I'm proud of you two._

Both Toushiro and I smiled.

...

Mikami gracelessly tumbled onto my bed and wrapped me in a tight hug. The only warning I had gotten before my siblings had barged into the hospital room that night was the shared worried look of the _shinigami_ . Teito at least waited until Mikami let go of me before nearly picking me up off the bed with his own hug. I sighed and hugged back, wincing as I moved around.

"I thought I told you not to get hurt," Mikami admonished while ruffling my hair.

I tiredly looked up at her. "At least I didn't die."

She held up her thumb and index finger as if pinching the air. "You came this close to."

I rolled my eyes.

"Who knew you could actually fight, Koko-chan," Teito chuckled as he precariously perched himself on the foot of my bed.

"I can fight; I'm the reincarnation of one of the _Gotei_ Thirteen's strongest. You two just never bothered to ask."

Mikami glanced at Teito and then turned to me with a half smile on her face. Her lips were pulled upwards but her brow was furrowed. "You need to tell us more about that; about... um... Toushiro, I mean."

I looked at her questioningly before smiling widely.

_Look, they're interested in you._

_I'm an interesting person, _Toushiro replied with a shrug.

I rolled my eyes. _No you're not; you like taking naps and drinking green tea. You're like an old man._

_Watch it, child, _he growled.

I smirked. "He'd be happy to meet you two."

Teito looked like he was going to ask a question, but he settled on shaking his head instead.

I leaned back and pushed myself further into the pillows propping me up. Unohana had been right; my back was beginning to hurt from sitting. Mikami noticed my discomfort instantly and helped me to lie back down. It felt awkward looking up at them like this, but at least it didn't hurt.

"That man really did a number on you," Teito muttered, standing up so I wouldn't have to crane my neck to see him.

"It's nothing," I held back a yawn. "What about you? Did anything happen in _Heuco_ _Mundo_ after I left?"

Mikami shoved her hands into her pockets and tilted her head slightly. "No, nothing remarkable happened. A few more hollows came out and it seemed like they were trying to surround us, but it was nothing Uryu couldn't handle."

I nodded, feeling relieved that Aizen hadn't tried anything funny with them. He probably had something planned though; knowing him, but maybe Uryu was more useful than I gave him credit for.

Teito started grinning and he mouthed 'she likes him' behind Mikami's back.

"I figured," I sighed, "did you give him the talk?"

Mikami frowned when my answer didn't add up. "What?"

"You bet," Teito laughed, "you should have seen his face; he thought I was going to beat him or something."

"You should have recorded it," I said, grinning.

Mikami had figured out what we were talking about by then and folded her arms across her chest. "You two are ridiculous. There's nothing wrong with Uryu."

"There's nothing wrong with him," Teito agreed and pulled Mikami into a one armed hug. "He just needs to know what he's up against if he ever hurts you."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm old enough to deal with these situations myself, Teito."

"Maybe so, but you're still my sister."

"Damn straight," I agreed.

"You too, Hyōka?" she sighed and buried her face in her palms, obviously embarrassed.

Teito squeezed her shoulder as I struggled to hold back another yawn. Breathing too deeply hurt, but I managed to turn what would have been a gasp of pain into a cough.

"We should let you get some rest," Teito sighed.

"Wait,"

They both looked at me questioningly.

"Where's Ichigo? Unohana, avoided the question, and I haven't seen him since I woke up. What happened to him?"

They both hesitated and looked at one another for a second. My stomach started to bubble uncomfortably.

Mikami took a deep breath, "Ichigo's... he hasn't woken up yet."

I blinked suddenly feeling hollow inside. "He's in a coma?"

Mikami nodded slowly. "He was in a worse state than you and lost too much blood by the time Unohana was able to get around to him. He's been unconscious for the past five days... and, I'm sorry Hyōka, but he shows no signs of getting better."

I turned to stare at the ceiling. Mikami's words had struck like gunshots. Ichigo and coma did not go together; the two words didn't fit.

"Hyōka..."

"I..." my voice cracked and I cleared my throat and tried again, "I'm going to bed; I'll see you two tomorrow."

I heard her sigh then she patted my hair and bent down to give me a gentle kiss on my temple.

"It'll be okay, Hyōka," she whispered.

Teito wished me good night and they both left. I rolled over on my side despite the protest from my abdomen and curled into a ball. Ichigo... was in a coma; well, what had I expected really? He had been stabbed through the heart; he wasn't going to bounce back like he had fallen and scraped his knee. But still, I couldn't imagine him injured to such a degree. Even after he had been practically gutted when rescuing me from Aizen the first time he was there, with that cheesy grin plastered on his face, as if nothing had happened. A part of me thought that was how it would always be. I couldn't imagine him lying in a hospital bed.

I raised a hand to my face and wasn't even surprised when I felt wetness on my cheeks. They weren't sure that he was going to wake up. That stupid redhead; I hadn't even known him for a year and already I was crying for him as if he was family or something. If only he hadn't... I growled loudly. If only he had kept a clear head, if he hadn't gotten worked up he would have seen what Aizen was doing. If he hadn't been so angry that I was-

_Hyōka, no, _Toushiro's firm voice calmed me somewhat and I found myself slumped over on my knees in my inner world, _all wars have casualties, Ichigo's injury wasn't your fault._

_He was angry that-_

Toushiro sighed heavily,_ Brings back memories doesn't it? You can't lose your temper in battle, otherwise... _he placed his hand over his chest where the scar from the first battle with Aizen lay, the one that had cost him his life. _There are repercussions if you do._

_But Ichigo-_

_He was a great warrior, but he made a mistake. This just goes to show you how fragile our existence is. I know what you thought of him. He was strong and he was always going to be standing next to you right?_

I hung my head, the tears were still pouring fast down my face. Toushiro knelt down in front of me and put his hands on my shoulders. He squeezed gently before pulling me into his chest in a tight hug.

_If I hadn't gotten hurt he wouldn't have gotten angry, _I sobbed into his _kosode_. _If I hadn't been so reckless-_

_The ideal state in battle is calm and emotionless, but in reality that is near impossible to achieve, even for me. I should have known that, even hollowfied, Aizen still had the upper hand against us, but did I care? No, all I could see was revenge, and there was an opening so I took it. So don't put the blame for anything all on yourself; we're a team, remember. War, battle, emotions... they do things to people; as we all know rage in dangerous. But that's what battle is; a series of quick decisions and not all of them can be the right ones._

I snorted softly, _You're better at controlling your emotions than I am._

_I got myself killed, remember? You were my second chance._

I took a deep breath and listened to Toushiro's heartbeat as I tried to calm down. _He might not wake up, all because of a stupid-_

_Ichigo knew what he was going into. He knew that he was fighting for your sake, as well as the entire Soul Society, so don't you think for a second that he didn't know it could end like this. Plus, I'm sure that right now, in his strange, tiny mind, that he's happy he risked everything for something he cared about, that he risked everything for you._

_For us._ I looked up at him finally feeling the smallest bit better.

...

I wasn't aware that I had fallen asleep, but when I woke up it had to be sometime past midnight. The room was empty, almost completely dark, and eerily quiet. I was still curled on my side but someone had placed a pillow under my ribs and another against my lower back so I wouldn't strain my injury. I gingerly sat up and looked around, briefly wishing for a bedside lamp, wondering why there wasn't electricity in the Soul Society and how the medical equipment was working without it. These _shinigami_ never ceased to amaze me. Both Hyourinmaru and Toushiro chuckled and offered up some flimsy excuse of _reishi_ substituting for electricity.

I shook my head and, ever so slowly, swung my legs over the side of the bed and dropped to the floor. The instant my feet hit the ground and took my weight what felt like a jolt of electricity – ironic, I know – shot up my spine. It was the worse around my lower back but radiated onto my shoulder blades. I bit my knuckle to keep from shouting out.

I swore as the pain ebbed away, but I found that I could not stand upright without feeling as if there was a knife in my stomach. So I grabbed the pole that my bag of IV fluid was attached to and leaned against that. After a moment's rest I slowly shuffled to the door. Toushiro sighed, but he didn't reprimand me and allowed me to search for Ichigo's _reiatsu_. I located him with no problem; even unconscious his _reiatsu_ roamed wild. Instead of comforting power, however, he felt subdued, weak even. It made me sick.

I hobbled down the dark hallway to a room a couple doors away and froze at the threshold. Ichigo was lying on his back with tubes and wires running into him like he was some sort of sick experiment. Dim moonlight spilled in from a window above his bed, but I didn't need help to see that his normally tan complexion now held an ashen tone. There was an oxygen mask over his face but I could still tell that his breathing was very shallow and uneven.

I felt a new batch of tears form at my eyes and scrubbed them away before they could fall.

"Ichigo, you idiot," I muttered into the air.

There was a chair against the wall so, with some difficulty, I pulled it to his bedside and sat down. Leaning against the bed I took one of his hands in both of mine. His skin was cold to the touch, almost as if he was dead, and somehow his hand felt frail. It was still large and calloused, but lifeless.

"Why do you have to be the hero?" I clutched his hand tighter. "You better wake up; I won't forgive you if you don't."

I fell asleep holding Ichgo's hand, but I woke up back in my own bed. I groggily pushed myself up, wondering how I got here, but a bowl of some sort of liquidy mush was pushed under my nose.

Unohana smiled down at me.

"Now, Hyōka-kun. I thought I told you that you needed to rest. Spending the night hunched over in a chair won't do you any good."

I hung my head.

"Next time I suggest you at least share the bed if you plan on staying by Kurosaki-kun's side."

So I did.

I spent so much time in Ichigo's room that the _shinigami_ of The Fourth had given up on bringing me back to my own bed each night. I was getting better so my back and stomach didn't hurt when I wasn't lying down but I still got very sore if I sat upright for too long. Ichigo, however, made no improvement.

He had many visitors, well, we both did. Most of the captains and lieutenants, Rukia, Renji, even Ikkaku came to check up on him on a daily basis. Renji shared stories about him and Ichigo and I almost laughed at a few of them until I turned to see Ichigo's pale face with dry, cracked lips and dark circles under his eyes. Rukia's visits were more morose; every time she came, though, she bought a small trinket so soon Ichigo's room was full of flower arrangements, boxes of chocolate, and small, white, stuffed bunnies. He probably wouldn't be too pleased with her when he woke up.

I sat day in and day out by his side, constantly watching his face for any movement but there was none. After about a week, Mikami tried to get me to move about more. I wasn't depressed or anything I was just waiting for him to wake up, I told her, but she just frowned at me and told me that I was neglecting my health.

The next day Rangiku came to visit and I could tell, instantly, she was there for me, not Ichigo.

"What do you want, Rangiku?" I sighed.

"Wow, you sound exactly like Captain, when you say that." She smiled. "Let's take a walk."

I glanced towards Ichigo.

"I'm sure he'll understand."

"You're not going to leave me alone until I agree to go with you, right?"

"Spot on."

I sighed, "I still can't stand for very long, much less walk."

"That's okay, I can carry you!"

Before I could protest I found myself on Rangiku's back and we were leaving The Fourth.

"I know this great place that sells _dango_," Rangiku chirped.

"I can't eat solid food; Unohana will have your head."

She huffed, "You're no fun."

I rolled my eyes. "Why did you bring me out here?"

"You seemed depressed," she replied turning her head to look at me.

"I'm not depress-"

"Don't give me that. You're exactly like Captain and I could read him like a book. What happened to Ichigo wasn't your fault."

I thought back to my conversation with Toushiro. "I know that."

"Also, I don't want to be _that guy_, but Ichigo might be like this forever. Are you going to stay like this too?

I frowned, "He could get better."

Rangiku sighed and stooped down to let me slide off her back. We were standing in a courtyard with a sickening amount of flowerbeds. She knelt down on the grass and flicker her hair over her shoulder before staring at me.

"But what if he doesn't?"

I looked away. "I don't want to think about that."

She took my hand and squeezed it gently. "I know, hun; it's hard. But right now you have the chance to move on and become stronger. Look, I lost a few people close to me in The Winter War, yes, I moped around for a while, but look at me now. I'm a captain and everything. Plus, I'm sure that everyone who died for our sakes would be proud."

'_Well done, Rangiku,'_ Toushiro smiled from my inner world.

"He is," I muttered.

"Hmm?"

"Toushiro, he's proud of what you've accomplished."

A wide smile broke out on her face and she pulled me into a hug. "So what do you say to making Ichigo proud?"

I took a deep breath. "Okay."

...

I was given two choices. The _Gotei_ Thirteen was thankful for what I had done to help defeat Aizen, but the true thanks fell upon the sole redhead in a catatonic state. Yamamoto allowed me the opportunity to further my powers, bestowing upon me the title of 'substitute _shinigami_', but the catch was I had to learn from one of the captains in the Soul Society – meaning I would have to uproot my life in Karakura. The other option was to take on the job of an outpost _shinigami_ in Karakura. I would have to report back to the Soul Society every so often. I figured that, even though I had taken part in defeating Aizen, the Central Forty-six was still suspicious and wanted to keep tabs on me. The second option wouldn't give me much time to train but I thought it was more favourable than leaving the world of the living.

We even had a sort of ceremony thing where I was given a wooden badge decorated with a skull and Yamamoto gave some long winded speech about the safety of the Soul Society and Aizen being defeated once and for all. There was sake and loud, outdated music; Kyoraku got drunk and attempted to hit on Mikami before being shot down by both Teito and Uryu, who had somehow made it all this way for the ceremony. Kyoraku looked like he was about to cry but a just as drunk Rangiku came and swooped him away. I wasn't sure what mischief they were getting into now, but as long as it didn't involve me I was okay with it.

I was worn out by the time the speeches were done and, as refreshing as it was to have everyone so carefree and happy, if one more person clapped me on the back and told me how proud they were I was going to lose it. I hated parties, especially when they were for my sake. Well, they were really just celebrating the end of a war, but the majority of the ceremony had been about presenting me with the substitute badge. The last party I had was for my birthday, but at least then I had Chou, Kazu and Adachi to talk to, now, I don't know, somehow I felt as if I didn't quite truly belong here. Teito and Renji were in a drunken world of their own and Mikami looked pretty cosy with Uryu so I did not want to bother them. If only Ichigo...

I took a deep breath and leaned back against the wall. My damn abdomen still hurt; my sides twinged ever so often, even after a month of therapy with Unohana, and I had been on my feet for most of the day so the throbbing now was understandable. I sunk down into a crouch and rested my forehead against my knees.

"Well if it isn't the man of the hour, what are you doing all by yourself?" A hand was clasped on my shoulder and I jumped a mile.

Isshin Kurosaki was smiling down at me with Karin and Yuzu on either one of his sides. Yuzu's eyes were rimmed with red and Karin's smile was forced. I could not maintain eye contact with them for long and I ended up hanging my head.

"I'm sorry," I muttered, "about Ichigo, he was trying to protect-"

"Oh shut up," Karin growled, sliding down the wall next to me. "Ichigo's a grown man. He made his own choices. It wasn't your fault, so I don't want to see you moping around about any of that stuff, okay?"

"Right, it's your night, you should be happy." Yuzu smiled softly at me.

I nodded and Karin patted me on the back. "We're moving him tomorrow. We thought that it would be best if he stayed with us, you know. We can use equipment from the clinic. Anyway, I'm rambling; I know how close you two were, so what would you say to being with us when we bring him back home?"

I nodded so fast that I might have looked like a bobble-head figurine. Karin smiled softly while Yuzu quickly wiped a tear that had escaped her eye. Isshin was smiling sadly as he wrapped his arm around his daughter's shoulders.

"Shall we join the festivities?" Isshin asked after a short while.

Karin stood up and offered me her hand.

I shook my head, "My muscles are killing me; I don't think I could stand up for another minute. I think I'm gonna sneak off to bed in a short while, actually."

The three of them nodded in understanding and moved off to mingle with the crowd.

I rested the back of my head against the wall and closed my eyes for a second.

'_You ready to blow this popsicle stand?' _ I asked Toushiro.

'_What?'_

'_You wanna leave?'_

'_Yeah, what was that expression just now?' _

I chuckled softly and shook my head. It wasn't surprising when nobody noticed me leaving as everyone was too engrossed in the celebrations. But I guess they needed it; the war with Aizen had been going on for over a decade.

Instead of heading back to my temporary space in one of The Fourth's private rooms, my feet took me to Ichigo's room. Yuzu had rearranged Rukia's flowers and had smoothened out his messy hair. Ichigo had been in this state for well over a month now and it was beginning to show; he had lost a great deal of weight and his skin looked like parchment, even his hair wasn't as bright anymore. I sighed as I climbed on to his bed and sat near his hip. I took his hand in mine, almost cringing when I felt how bony his fingers had gotten, and smoothed the skin on his knuckles.

"It really is different when you're on the other end, huh? Now I know how you guys must have felt all the times I was unconscious. But, you see, I was better about it 'cause you knew I was going to wake up. They're having a party out there, you know cause Aizen's dead and all. You should be there; I'm sure you'd have fun. Renji was making a fool of himself and dragging Teito along with him. It should have been your party too; you're the one who dealt the final blow... funny how that turned out.

"So, they made me a substitute _shinigami_, gave me a badge and everything, but now I have to work for them. It's not all bad actually; all I have to do is kill hollows around Karakura and report back once every three months... Would you believe that Central Forty-six is still trying to keep tabs on me? They still don't trust me even after I freaking cut off Aizen's arm. They're just a bunch of old people who have nothing better to do than try to control others and soil their adult diapers... you would have laughed at that. But it's true; they're all like a hundred and five years old; they look older than Yamamoto. Wait, can people in the Soul Society die of old age? See, Ichigo, you have to wake up; I have so many questions to ask you.

"Your dad probably already told you, but we're bringing you back home tomorrow. You'd probably prefer your own bed to this lumpy piece of brick right? An old man like you probably has backaches already. I don't know when they'll let me go back to Karakura, but I can't imagine that they'd keep me here much longer. Anyway, I told Karin that I'd be there when we brought you home..."

I spent the rest of the night talking to Ichigo, imaging his expression as I bagged on people and probably said things I shouldn't have. I could practically hear him calling me a rude brat and feel him ruffling my hair. I almost broke down crying a few times but I kept on talking and holding his hand. My throat was dry after a few hours passed and I couldn't stare at his lifeless face for much longer. I turned my gaze to his hand in mine and noticed that he was still wearing the stupid, leather band that I had given him for Christmas. It felt like ages ago when I had picked it out, it was badly scuffed up now and the little grim reaper was threatening to fall off. I would have to ask Yuzu to fix it when she got the chance.

I gently touched the worn leather with my fingertips and tears sprang to my eyes. I couldn't stop them this time. I clutched his hand to my chest and sobbed loudly.

"You idiot. You have to wake up, you stupid, idiot."

...

Moving Ichigo was a bit tricky; we couldn't exactly disconnect him from all of the machines working to keep him alive. But Isshin was more innovative than I had thought and came up with a safe way for transporting his son to the world of the living. Ichigo's bedroom looked strange fitted with all that medical equipment even if Yuzu had done a little redecorating in an effort to make his room cheerier.

Karin, Yuzu and I stood to one side of the room and watched as Isshin carried Ichigo from the hallway to his bed. He looked almost like an over-sized ragdoll in his father's arms; I could not help but cringing. Isshin placed him on the bed and began to re-attach the various tubes and wires. I had to look away. Seeing Ichigo like this was still, after all this time, not right.

"So, now what?" I muttered as Isshin pulled the sheets over Ichigo. There was nothing else we could really do for him, but I still felt as if I should do something, _anything_.

"Well, son, you're home now so you have no excuse to laze around like this anymore," Isshin joked and patted Ichigo's hand.

Karin shook her head while Yuzu smiled gently.

"Oh, Dad," she said softly, but her amusement turned into a sharp gasp. In fact, we all stood stock still, staring as Ichigo's eyes slowly fluttered open.

His brown eyes were unfocused as he tiredly looked about the room. He paused for a moment at each one of our faces before slipping back into unconsciousness. I felt my jaw drop slightly, Karin matched my movement, Yuzu's arms flew to cover her mouth, and Isshin broke out into a wide grin.

"I knew it, nothing is stronger than the bond between father and son; he just needed to hear my voice!"

"I don't think that was it, Old man," Karin muttered, but her voice held pure relief.

"W-what just happened?" I asked, shaking myself from my stupor. Ichigo had woken up for less than a minute, but now he was back in his previous state.

"He's waking up," Yuzu explained, "coma patients usually wake up in stages. It's not like in movies where they suddenly burst upright like waking up from a nap. He's probably only going to be awake for a few minutes a day, but at least..."

She trailed off and I tried not to look as she wiped at her eyes.

"He's going to be alright," I finished.

...

Ichigo woke up twice again the next day and both times was completely disoriented. He could only stay awake for, at most, two minutes at a time. Isshin told me that recovering from such trauma was not going to be very easy and would take a while. However, by the end of the week Ichigo was trying to speak as if to prove his father wrong.

He was waking more frequently now, even if he was still spending the majority of the time sleeping, and he was beginning to look alert when he woke up. Seeing him recover was an interesting process; I mean, losing all that blood had sufficiently scrambled his brain. But day-by-day he rearranged his mind and it was a relief to see that the bits and pieces clunked back into place.

I had been allowed to come back to the world of the living and had not been put on official duty yet, so I spent most of my time at the Kurosaki's house. Mikami kept the clinic running, with help from Isshin and Yuzu. Yuzu moved back in for the time being to help with Ichigo. I learnt that she and Karin had formal training as nurses when they were younger, so things were running more or less smoothly. Karin dropped in frequently as did Rukia and Renji - I was surprised that Yamamoto gave them permission to do so.

It was really odd becoming reacquainted with Karakura. The schools had closed for summer so Chou, Kazu and Adachi were demanding that I spent time with them. My time in the Soul Society had been dubbed a 'family emergency' and to them I had gone to Tokyo for the month. Still, there was no way getting around them finding out about Ichigo and why I was spending so much time with him. I had said that there had been an accident and they were content with just that. Only Adachi knew what had really happened and, although miffed that he had missed out on the whole thing, actually came to visit Ichigo a few times with me.

It took Ichigo two weeks before he was able to form coherent sentences. His speech was slightly slurred, however, and he frequently jumbled up his words. At three weeks he was able to retain consciousness for most of the day and sit up without help. Half a week later he was complaining that his catheter was uncomfortable.

Once Ichigo was strong enough to begin to move about he became a nightmare. It was not in his personality to be content with sitting around all day doing nothing. So, everyone sort of expected the loud crash we heard from his room one morning.

"Ichigo," Yuzu admonished upon entering the room. We had all rushed upstairs and found him lying on the ground by his bed struggling to push himself up. He was glaring at the floor like it was at fault for making him fall.

Isshin started to laugh and went over to help his son.

"You're not strong enough to get out of bed yet," he chuckled hoisting Ichigo back onto the bed.

Ichigo looked away, splotches of red beginning to grow on his face.

"You know the procedure; no walking until you're fully recovered and even then you might need therapy."

"I – I – I'm well enough," he ended in a huff, obviously annoyed at his shaky voice and began to look even angrier.

"Unbelievable," I said, folding my arms across my chest, "three weeks out of a coma and already you think you can rule the world."

He glared at me. "P-p-pot calling the k-kettle b-b-black, don't you th-th-th-think?"

I smiled inwardly; his stutter, and the way he looked frustrated because of it, was kind of cute.

_Don't be mean, Hyōka,_ Toushiro sighed,_ he's probably going to need speech therapy too._

"Doctors make the worst patients," Isshin grinned, "think they know what's best."

"I d-d-do know what's b-b-est. Th-th-this isn't the f-f-f-f-first coma I've d-dealt with."

"Yes, son, but this time _you're_ the one who's recovering."

Ichigo couldn't think of a reply so he settled on growling softly.

"It's different when you're on the other end, huh?" I joked.

He glared at me again before deflating into the pile of pillows at his back.

"Can I at least g-g-g-get a book or something?"

Isshin's warnings weren't enough to stop Ichigo from trying to get out of bed. He deemed himself strong enough, and after three days of having to be picked up off the floor we found him in the hallway holding onto his doorframe for dear life. He was trembling like he was going to fall at any second, his knuckles were white for holding the frame so hard, and he was gasping for air but he was grinning from ear to ear and none of us could find it in ourselves to be angry at him. Ichigo hated being infirm – and hit me over the head when I called him that. He seemed to be on track for the world's fastest recovery time, the hopelessly determined idiot. We had gotten him a walker after that.

"So now what?" Ichigo glanced over at me while doing a couple stretches on the floor with an elastic rope. His recovery had picked up pace – yet again – and he had become his own physiotherapist. He had also got his speech in check by himself.

"What do you mean?" I cocked my head.

"Aizen's dead, so now what?"

I grinned. "Yamamoto made me a substitue _shinigami_."

He paused in his stretching and looked at me with a look of befuddlement. "They made _you_ a substitute? What is this word coming to?"

"Hey, I cut off Aizen's arm; I deserve to be decorated."

He shook his head. "Hunting hollows isn't easy, though, you'll need to be careful."

I shrugged. "We can work together."

He blinked slowly then began to smile. "Yes, yes we can. We make a hell of a team, don't we?"

"Well, I don't want to brag, but we did bring down Aizen."

"Everyone knows you want to brag." He shook his head and began to wrap the elastic rope neatly around his hand. "Here, help me up."

I grasped his forearm in one hand and braced his back with the other. He had regained a significant amount of weight and I had to strengthen myself with a bit of _reiatsu_ so we wouldn't fall over. When he was fully upright he placed a hand against the wall to steady himself and I handed him his cane – he had gotten fed up with the walker a few days ago.

"Things are going to be much different now," he huffed.

I handed him a bottle of water.

"Yup, but it's better this way, right?"

He nodded and took a deep drink. "Way better."

* * *

**Hmm, I didn't kill Ichigo after all. Wasn't that a relief? War is not a thing to be played with guys :/**

**Anyway, I ended up having to chop this chapter in half cause there are still a few more ends that I have to tie up and it was already over 6,000 words. So, you all get an extra chapter :)**

**Now we're going to get extra warm and gooey, because Aizen is dead and the war is over; it's just peace and love from here on out. **

**Now ,I don't feel like I should ask for any reviews 'cause you guys were so awesome last time, but still, as always, I'd love to know what you think.**

**-Mymomomo :)**


	44. Chapter 44

**Well, this is definitely a bittersweet moment for me. It's a mixture of a heavy heart and relief that I finally change the status of this story from on-going to complete. **

**It's been an awesome time so, I present to you the final chapter of Time and Again. **

* * *

I ran a finger under the bowtie that was tied a little too tightly around my neck and sighed. Who had invented bowties anyway? It was like some little girl had decided to tie a red ribbon around my neck. I felt ridiculous; everything was wrong with this type of dress. I hadn't known what a pocket square was before today. I was even wearing a waistcoat, for crying out loud. My shoes were too big and my jacket was way too heavy for this summer weather. I sighed again and decided that the jacket could wait until I got to the church. I unbuttoned it and threw it over my shoulder. It was going to be a long day and having to wear this monkey suit wasn't going to make it any better.

'_Stop sighing; it's a wedding not a funeral,'_ Toushiro admonished in amusement.

'_You're not the one wearing the suit,' _I grumbled.

'_I think you look rather handsome,'_ Hyourinmaru rumbled.

I rolled my eyes and tried to make the starchy fabric of the waistcoat sit more comfortably. _'Somehow I don't believe that. You saw how Mikami and Kamiko were treating me like a doll when we went to pick this out.'_

Hyourinmaru laughed loudly, causing my inner-world to shake. Even Toushiro started to smile.

'_Well... you're tiny and therefore cute.' _Hyourinmaru said taking a break from laughing.

I folded my arms across my chest. _'I'm not cute.'_

'_Dressed like that you are.'_

I scowled at the dragon.

'_Don't listen to him,'_ Toushiro said, shaking his head in amusement, _'Anyway, you only have to wear it for one day; it's not that bad.'_

'_I have a freaking red bow around my neck; it is that bad.'_

'_Like I said; cute.'_ Hyourinmaru said again.

I tuned him out after that and tugged one last time at the bowtie before giving up and going to find Teito and Mikami. We should be heading to the church soon. I found Teito standing in the middle of the living room in a sort of daze. I regarded him for a while before shaking my head and heading over to him.

"Nervous?" I asked.

He jumped slightly and hesitated before answering me. "Yeah, a little." He puffed out his cheeks then let the air go in a loud swoop. "I'm kinda changing my whole life here."

"Oh, it'll be fine; you've basically been playing house with Mikami and me for the past eight years. The only difference is you'll be living with the 'woman of your dreams' and have kids of your own soon enough."

He smiled a little.

"Nothing you can't handle; you raised me, after all, and I didn't turn out half bad."

He raised an eyebrow. "You're an obnoxious brat."

I rolled my eyes. "I was trying to comfort you; don't look at the details."

He laughed this time then flopped down on the couch looking slightly more relaxed. Miakmi joined us shortly after, wearing a flouncy, maroon dress and holding a pair of impossibly high shoes in her hand. She sat down on the couch next to Teito and began to pull them on.

"My feet are going to kill me by the end of the night," she groaned.

"Then don't wear them," I stated dryly.

She looked at me like I was speaking a different language. I shook my head; women were hard to understand sometimes. I glanced at Teito and he just shook his head in response.

"Kamiko's own were even higher," he whispered.

"I don't get it." I shook my head.

"And you never will."

Mikami straightened, got up and took a few experimental steps. "They're pretty." She offered in explanation.

I shook my head again.

...

The church was a fifteen-minute drive from our apartment, but we had to get there half an hour early to make final preparations. It was supposed to be a relatively small wedding considering that the Takemitsu family was pretty small – both of our parents were only children so Teito had only invited a few relatives and friends from Tokyo as well as his friends from Karakura, which included the Kurosakis, surprisingly, Kisuke and his bunch, and even Renji, Rukia, and Rangiku. Kamiko's side was considerably larger, but not enough to completely take over the wedding. I had even been allowed to invite Chou, Kazu, Adachi and their families – Adachi's dad was a no show, but I can't say that anyone minded. Chou laughed at my suit when she saw me and snapped a few pictures on her phone. When I grumbled and asked her why, she winked and replied with the single word: leverage. Kazu shrugged in apology while Adachi laughed alongside with Chou.

The wedding ceremony went by rather quickly, thankfully. As the best man, I had to walk up the aisle with one of Kamiko's sisters; I think her name was Kaoru – I really had to get their names straight, but it didn't help that they all started with the letter K. Kamiko, herself, was admittedly flawless and beaming like the sun. When Teito saw her coming down the aisle he actually froze for a second then smiled so widely that even I ended up feeling inexplicably happy even hours afterwards.

The reception was held in a small hotel located on the outskirts of the town. It was a picturesque little place that sat right along the river that ran through the centre of Karakura. I was caught off guard by the bubble machine they had at the entrance and managed to get a mouthful of soap.

Once everyone was seated at their respective tables Kaoru – I had been right after all – clinked her knife against her champagne glass to get every one's attention and started the toasts. Embarrassing stories from Kamiko's childhood were shared. The bride ended up blushing so hard that she had to hide her face; Teito soothed her with a peck on the cheek, but then there was a slideshow showcasing pictures of her and her family and, surprisingly, Teito and us, so he ended up blushing as well. I sat speechless staring as pictures of a baby Teito with our parents flashed across the wall. I hadn't seen some of these before and found myself laughing at his expense. It was his turn to bow his head in slight embarrassment; he turned to Mikami demanding to know where she had found the photographs. Mikami only grinned and took a sip of her champagne. After the slideshow, Kamiko's father gave a speech with a few delightful anecdotes, and then the microphone was passed to me.

I had actually forgotten that I had to prepare a speech until this morning when Teito had mentioned it in an off-hand comment. I wasn't about to promise anything the standard of Martin Luther King Junior or even of the speakers that had spoken before me; to be quite honest, this was first time I was going to hear it myself.

I stood up but quickly found out that a rather tall flower arrangement was in front of me. I grumbled under my breath and ended up standing on my chair. There were a few snickers but I played off of them.

"I guess we should have measured the height of the flowers, huh?" I cleared my throat while a few more people started to chuckle. "Well, Teito, I have to say it was about time. I thought that I was going to be stuck with you and Mikami for the rest of my life. I'm sure that the majority of you here know that Teito has played the role of my father for as long as I can remember. And, even though I was a perfect child, that wasn't an easy thing to do-"

"Perfect child?" Teito interrupted and caused another round of laughter.

"This isn't about _me_, Teito," I continued, "anyway, I don't want to go with the flow of tonight's speeches and say what a wonderful and flawless person my brother is because anyone who's lived with him knows he's not. He's annoying and overbearing, he makes jokes when he shouldn't, he snores loud enough to shake the walls, he doesn't get angry often, but when he does it's best to get as far away as possible. He's actually quite messy, and works odd hours so he comes home in the middle of the night, and, of course, someone as large as him is about as graceful as a three-legged elephant."

By now Teito was holding his head in his hands and everyone was beginning to look confused.

"But, he's also the person who stuck with me and Mikami when my mom died. He had his whole life planned out already, a good job, and a nice apartment. Honestly, he could have chosen to stick me with some other relatives, or even in an orphanage, and had a much more peaceful life. But he didn't, 'cause that's not what he's like. He took on two jobs, paid for Mikami to finish her degree, and took care of a five year old. And that's pretty remarkable for someone who was only twenty-four. He devoted everything to us, handled everything with a smile, and not once did he ask for anything in return or even made us feel guilty about any of it. So, Teito," I turned to him. He was staring at me with his mouth slightly agape and raised eyebrows. "No, you're not perfect, but you're damn well amazing and, if I haven't said this before, thanks for everything. And Kamiko you should know, if you don't already, what kind of man you're getting. I'm not gonna bother to wish you good luck or anything because I know you two are going to have a long and happy marriage. So, welcome to the family, Kamiko."

I guess everyone liked my speech because the applause that followed it was deafening. Teito leaned over and hugged me. His eyes looked a little misty and Kamiko was tightly clutching his hand.

'_Impressive,'_ Toushiro grinned, _'Who knew that you were so good with words?' _

I mentally rolled my eyes, _'Well, they don't call me a genius for nothing.'_

The food was surprisingly good, even if I still had to be careful of what I ate and couldn't have any of the heavily seasoned dishes. The band they had hired wasn't terrible either. Sometime later on in the evening I located Kazu, Cho and Adachi and we watched as the adults got progressively tipsier on champagne and wine and dance moves got weirder by the minute. Cho's father hadn't noticed that she had snuck a couple drinks for herself and Kazu. I refused to touch the stuff, but no one was around to stop Adachi form having a few glasses himself. Kazu would have refrained from drinking as well, but Chou pouted and he instantly threw away the feeble defence he had. Then, after a while, she had convinced Kazu to dance with her and they disappeared somewhere on the dance floor.

Adachi and I chatted for a while – mostly about the war – but I had lost count of how many drinks he had and he was beginning to dose off. I shook my head and let him fall asleep slumped against the table, it was pretty late and he had said that his father had woken him up at an ungodly hour this morning. Coupled with how much had had drank, sleeping wasn't that farfetched of an idea. He wasn't going to be too pleased with himself tomorrow morning, however. I guessed that falling asleep was better than making a fool of himself like everyone else here. They had already been dancing for hours and showed no signs of stopping.

I ended up watching everyone dance for a while, spying Mikami and Uryu together while Teito and Kamiko looked like they were having a blast in the centre of it all. I was happy they were happy; they deserved to be happy after all of this; they definitely deserved a happy ending. I smiled and propped my head up on the table as I watched them. Even Toushiro and Hyourinmaru seemed content with watching everyone else move about.

'_Two parties in less than three months. Aren't you on a roll?' _Hyourinmaru joked.

I rolled my eyes. _'Don't get used to it.'_

'_Aww, I thought that you weren't going to be a recluse like Toushiro.'_

'_I'm not a recluse,'_ Toushiro snapped, _'I simply appreciate quiet and I don't approve of large, inebriated crowds.'_

'_Stick in the mud.'_

Toushiro sighed.

'_Don't worry; I agree with you on that one.' _ I muttered.

'_That's going to change when you reach dirking age.'_

'_I doubt it.'_

'_Is that a challenge?'_

'_Hyourinmaru,"_ Toushiro groaned, rolling his eyes. _'That isn't something you should encourage.'_

'_You both need to loosen up. We couldn't enjoy the other party because we were worried about Ichigo and now I think you two deserve a break from all this worrying.'_

'_I just said I was happy,'_ I muttered.

"_Who's worrying?'_ Toushiro asked dryly, _'I think the only one worrying is you.'_

'_Yeah, you old dragon; you're the real worry-wart.'_

Hyourinamru snorted, causing thick puffs of condensation to escape from his nostrils. _'You'd worry too if you had to take care to two hatchlings.'_

'_How many times do I have to say it-"_

'_You're not a kid?'_ I cut Toushiro off and smiled in amusement as he turned on me with a raised eyebrow.

'_Brat,'_ he muttered.

Hyourinmaru snorted again; this time in amusement. I chuckled and Toushiro gave a small smile.

'_Can you believe that we're stuck with this one for the rest of our lives, Hyourinmaru?'_ he asked.

The dragon winked a ruby eye at me, _'I think he's a good addition.'_

Toushiro nodded. _'Agreed.'_

I smiled widely but turned my attention back to the outer- world before things started to get too mushy.

"Hey," I jumped slightly and turned my head to see Ichigo standing next to me; his cheeks were slightly flushed and he smelt faintly of champagne. How long had he been standing there? He held out his hand, "may I have this dance?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, Kurosaki? I'm not gonna dance with you. And where's your cane?"

He huffed, "I don't need it all the time, geez; I'm not some old man, you know."

"No, but you were in a coma..."

He shook his head, "That was over a month ago. Anyway, come on, you look bored all by yourself."

"No. They have photographers; people might think we're some messed up couple."

He snorted. "And when have you ever cared about what people think? Besides, what's wrong with dancing with a friend?"

"I don't want to dance."

"Well, what else do people do at weddings?"

He had a point, though. He continued to hold out his hand and wiggled his fingers impatiently. I groaned, knowing that he wasn't going to give up.

"God, you _shinigami _are so weird," I grumbled as I stood up and took his hand.

"And you're one of us now." He grinned and pulled me onto the dance floor. I looked around hoping that everyone was too drunk to notice. As soon as we reached the floor, though, the song switched to a slow dance. I scowled and instantly pulled away from him. Ichigo just laughed and grabbed me before I could run away.

"No way," I exclaimed and continued trying to pull my arm from his grasp.

"No take backs," he chuckled and tightened his grip.

"Seriously?"

He replied by taking my hand in one of his and placing the other on my waist. He started moving his feet and I had no choice but to follow unless I wanted to be dragged across the floor. God, I hated drunken people. Toushiro was quietly chuckling at my misfortune. Hyourinmaru was more vocal and I could feel the ground of my inner world shaking with his roaring laughter. I didn't bother telling them to shut up, knowing that it would make no difference.

"We've come a long way, Hyōka," Ichigo mumbled, "You were such a brat when I first met you."

"Morron," I snapped rolling my eyes.

" You still are actually. But somehow a brat like you managed to defeat Aizen."

"What are you talking about? You're the one who killed him."

"But I couldn't have done it without you."

"Yeah... I'm gonna stop you there, Ichigo. Things are becoming uncomfortably mushy." I understood it was a wedding, but I wasn't the one getting married, so I would have liked to keep the mush to a minimum.

"I'm just trying to say thanks. I can't imagine how weird all of this must have been for you, and you did a good job dealing with it all. Teito isn't the only strong person in your family."

"Well, we Takemitsus are special."

"I'll say."

We lapsed into silence and I spared another glace around to see if anyone was staring. Thankfully everyone else was too busy being drunk and happy to pay us any mind. I suppose I should just go along with it. No one else was minding so why should I? I should be just as happy – not as drunk, though – as everyone else around me. There was every reason to be happy: I was at my brother's wedding, the war was over, Aizen was dead, Ichigo alive and moving about.

"So, this is it, huh? The end... our happy ending," I sighed.

"Now who's being mushy?"

"Shut up. I meant..."

"I know what you meant. But why does it have to end? Why not go on to new adventures and continue being happy? There's no finality, we're still alive and kicking, right?"

"You are so drunk right now, Ichigo," I sighed shaking my head.

He frowned slightly. "... 'M not that drunk."

Then he promptly tried to spin me – not drunk, my butt. I tripped and stomped on his foot. He grimaced and let me go to rub at the scuffmark on his shoe.

"You did that on purpose,' he grumbled.

"You're the one that wanted to dance."

He straightened and narrowed his eyes. "Just for that I'm gonna request another slow song."

He grabbed my hand and dragged me off towards the band. I started to laugh despite the situation. He was right; this wasn't the end, and I couldn't wait for the rest.

* * *

**Wow... I'm actually done, took me three years, but I'm done :)**

**I would like to thank all the readers: those who followed, favourited, reviewed, or even just lurked. To those who stuck with Hyoka from the beginning, joined us halfway, or even just for the last few chapters you have my greatest gratitude. I had never expected this story to be so popular so all the responses I got were very encouraging, and I never would have gotten such a great change to improve my skills as a writer. **

**You guys were awesome and I can only hope that my future stories will be just as successful.**

**Again, Thank you all so very much!**

**-Mymomomo**


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